Nature watchers are fundamental players in protecting and preserving natural heritage of the Azores, says Marta Guerreiro
The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism stated in Praia da Vitória that Nature Watchers are fundamental players in protecting and preserving the natural heritage of the Azores.
In this regard, Marta Guerreiro highlighted the "investment made in regional Nature Watchers, namely in training and equipment," pointing out, as example, the increase of human resources in this area, growing 50% since 2014. "Currently, there are 43 members throughout the archipelago."
"Additionally, a new corporate identity has been created in order to give a modern image through changes made to the respective uniforms, adjusting them to the effective needs of these professionals and investing in the quality of the uniforms," added the Regional Secretary, who spoke on the opening of the National Meeting of Nature Watchers.
In her speech, Marta Guerreiro announced the creation of the "Junior Nature Watchers of the Azores," a programme developed in the scope of the school-oriented activities offered by the Azores Natural Parks.
In addition to "stimulating interest and participation in the preservation of the natural heritage, namely in the intervention and adoption of sustainable attitudes by youngsters," the programme also intends "disseminate and raise awareness for the activities carried out by the Nature Watchers body," stated the government official.
The Regional Secretary call for the mobilisation of everyone so that "the Azores continue in this direction: the path to sustainable development."
The government official also mentioned some investments made the by the Regional Government in terms of nature conservation, namely the Council of the Government's recent approval of a resolution defining the organisational model for the supervision and monitoring of projects funded by the LIFE Programme. The document also sets the operational structure deemed necessary for the management and implementation of these projects in the Azores. Furthermore, the installation of the Integrated Communication System of Environmental Services (SICAM) was concluded this week. This system is based on a digital communication network to support surveillance, monitoring and response to emergencies and catastrophes.
According to Marta Guerreiro, this network aims to "guarantee private voice and data communications of the operational structure of the Regional Directorate for the Environment throughout the archipelago in an effective and reliable manner. For this purpose, all Nature Watchers are equipped with handheld VHF radios as well as the heads of environmental services."