Regional Government awards 26 Prizes of Excellence under "Eco-Village" 2018 programme
The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism highlighted the awarding of 26 prizes of excellence under the "Eco-village, clean village 2018" programme, distinguishing municipalities on all islands of the archipelago: Corvo (1), Flores (1), Faial (5), Pico (2), São Jorge (1), Graciosa (1), Terceira (8), São Miguel (4) and Santa Maria (3).
Marta Guerreiro spoke at the delivery ceremony of the Prizes of Excellence, established in 2014, stressing that this is a way of distinguishing "the villages whose cleaning and maintenance efforts have achieved the highest scores in several evaluation criteria."
"In 2018, there were 149 registered villages. Among them, 103 were awarded the "Eco-village" prize and the respective flag that will be flown during next year." Additionally, 21 diplomas of recognition were distributed, demonstrating a positive evolution in these matters, noted the government official.
According to the government official, "rewarding performance and distinguishing excellence not only acknowledges the efforts of populations and their local authorities, but also encourages the continuity of actions for the maintenance and cleaning of public spaces, towards an effective change of behaviours."
"Village Councils play a key role as they are the link between the actual needs of the population and the pursuance of policies that will address them, with direct influence on the quality of life of people," said the Secretary for the Environment. According to her, this ceremony is a fair recognition that should be marked each year given the importance of maintaining a joint work of genuine public interest."
On the occasion, the Regional Secretary added that "143 Azorean parishes were registered this year and that the applications submitted under "My Stream" and "Clean Coast" projects covered an area of intervention of about 208.6 kilometres of water lines and 147.9 kilometres of coast, respectively."
"This corresponds to a financial support amounting to 450 thousand Euros, besides the additional amount of 50 thousand Euros to be granted to the best applications under the "My Stream" project, through the allocation of equipment to support the cleaning and maintenance of the hydrographic network," added the government official.
"Eco-Village, clean village" is primarily intended to recognise and distinguish the efforts of local authorities and the cooperation of the people in the cleaning, removal and proper referral of waste disposed of in public places, including water lines and the coastline. Moreover, it also aims to encourage participation in programmes and awareness actions in environmental education.
Marta Guerreiro also stressed that this programme "has been growing in terms of size and projection, consolidating itself as a wide-reaching and effective project recognised by our Villages as well as by citizens and the various entities involved in the preservation of environmental quality."