The Regional Secretary for Natural Resources said today at the Legislative Assembly in Horta that environmental quality in the Azores is an "important driving force for investment" in the archipelago.

For this reason, Luís Neto Viveiros spoke at the debate on the Programme of the XI Regional Government, stressing that the Government's actions in this area will be based on an Action Plan for the Azores Environment and Sea that puts special "emphasis on use and sustainability."

The Regional Secretary stated that "priority will be awarded to environmental monitoring," adding  that noise, atmosphere, biodiversity, spatial planning, fish stocks and marine environmental variables "will be adequately and carefully studied" in the archipelago.

According to him, the Government intends to enhance the use of infrastructures created under the Secretary for Natural Resources with special emphasis to the network of waste centres and their operationalisation.

In terms of spatial planning, Luís Neto Viveiros stressed that it is time "to reflect on what we want for the Azores in the long-term," adding that the "Açores 2030" plan will be created with this purpose. This plan will be linked to the Strategic Plan for Scientific Research in Environmental Domain.

The Regional Secretary also said that he wants to "encourage the proper use of our environmental heritage also at the level of the archipelago's natural species." In this context, the government official mentioned the problem concerning invasive species and termites as "fights" not to be forgotten in the archipelago.

Considering the importance of the water cycle for the Azores, Luís Neto Viveiros promised to safeguard "the maintenance of the ecological role played by peat bogs, crater lakes and streams" in the archipelago. He also assured that the Regulation of Water and Waste Services in the Azores (ERSARA), whose role “is essential for the standardisation and regularisation of the services provided by managing entities," will continue to play a vital role "in the maintenance of the quality of these areas."

Moreover, the Regional Secretary also announced a specific approach to the management of the Maritime Public Domain during this legislative period, which is justified by the need to improve its use, "without detriment to priority uses by the State, either in the National Defence system or in maritime navigation.

Regarding deep-sea mineral resources, the government official assured that the Government of the Azores will provide "a true contribution to the consolidation of sovereignty over our territorial waters."

In the area of fisheries, the Regional Secretary for Natural Resources said that Government's Programme also has as main goals: the sustainability of the sector, the enhancement of the fisheries sector and aquaculture, the improvement of jobs in this activity sector, the maintenance of the fishing fleet and support infrastructures, and the improvement of safety conditions at Sea.

Thus, the government official defended "the increase in the demand for natural products from the sea" as a way of promoting the economic activities of the regional fishing fleet; however, he stated that the fleet should also "diversify its activities to capture other species that are yet to be explored.

In order to achieve a sustainable activity, it is also essential "to further deepen the research of fishing resources in the Azores Sea, which is the main base that will help us to define the fishing effort," said Luís Neto Viveiros.
 The government official promised to maintain "a privileged collaboration" with the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries at the University of the Azores.

For the Regional Secretary, the existing solution for the European common fisheries policy "is not sufficient to achieve the goal towards a sustainable and precautionary management of natural resources and fails to ensure the stability of catches in our fishing community." Therefore, the Region should "strengthen the protection zones to traditional fishing in a process of open dialogue and collaboration with fisheries associations and our marine research institutions."

In the area of agriculture, the government official considered that, in face of the dismantling of the milk quota system planned for 2015, "the cessation of production is expected in the countries and territories where it is less competitive, providing an opportunity for placing products in the market with higher levels of profitability. "

"In the case of the Azores, it is necessary to adopt a series of measures and strategies to ensure the production capacity and sustainability of milk production, which may lead to the creation of a special scheme, defended Luís Neto Viveiros.

According to him, the Government "continues to defend the milk quota system in the European Union and the development of policies aimed at the reinforcement of the competitiveness and sustainability of the Azorean milk sector."

The Regional Secretary also stressed that, without neglecting animal husbandry as a traditional sector of the Azorean economy, "it is of utmost importance to focus on the diversification of production as a way of enhancing the profitability of the agricultural sector and making it less vulnerable to the risks of market changes."

Furthermore, Luís Neto Viveiros revealed that the Government expects that the implementation of the mechanisms resulting from the reform of the common agricultural policy has "a significant impact on rural economy in terms of agricultural production patterns, rural land management methods, jobs as well as in the social and economic conditions in rural areas.”
 
In the area of forestry, the Regional Secretary considered that gaining the confidence of markets, regarding the marketing of their products, requires the use of the “Eco-label” - Sustainable Forest Management Certification. The government official revealed that the Regional Secretariat for Natural Resources expects to receive the first Sustainable Forest Management Certification in 2013, through the certification of the forest areas within the Achadinha Forest Centre on São Miguel.