Government provides new multimedia contents in the "Feeling and Interpreting the Azores Environment" Portal
The "Feeling and Interpreting the Azores Environment" Portal (SIARAM) will provide new contents, including on the Furnas Volcano. Coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and the Environment, through the Regional Directorate for the Environment, this project consists of a database containing multimedia contents on the environment and nature conservation for educational and promotional purposes.
The new features of this portal, accessible at the address http://siaram.azores.gov.pt, include a gallery with about one hundred photos, new audio and video contents and an online documentary titled “Furnas: O Vulcão da Água” (Furnas: the Water Volcano).
The Furnas Volcano is of the few places on the planet where there is a direct relation between human beings and natural resources, because usually one lives from resources and not inside them.
"Here we are in the volcano," is how the inhabitants of Furnas speak of the place where they live every day.
The portal also includes another three documentaries, including one about "Currais de Pedra" (plots protected by stone walls) that gives voice to the women and men from Pico who transformed the landscape over the centuries, making their livelihood from it in a perfect relation with nature.
Classified as World Heritage by UNESCO since 2004, Pico vineyards are an example of the perfect interaction of human beings with a harsh volcanic territory, where they produce wine of excellent quality.
"O Último Vulcão da Linha" (Last Volcano in the Line) is another documentary available at the portal. The documentary is based on a project that results from the collection of several testimonies on the submarine eruption in Capelinhos occurred in 1957 and 1958. This work has been conducted by the Regional Directorate for the Environment, since 2012.
The third documentary, titled "Fajãs of Time" ("Fajãs of Time), is inspired on a poem by the same name, "Fajã do Tempo," written by Terceira-born poet Rui Duarte Rodrigues. It reflects the relevance of these places nowadays.
In this regard, this work aims to provide an in-depth knowledge on the "fajãs" of São Jorge and their way of life, thus contributing to a better understanding of the meaning of sustainability. This is particularly important at a time when the preparation of their application to the classification as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is currently ongoing.
The portal also features some elements of the cultural heritage on water architecture as well as three geosites located on Graciosa Island, known as "Porto Afonso," "Ponte da Barca, Ilhéu da Baleia and Ponta do Carapacho" and "Ponta da Restinga and Ilhéu de Baixo."
The "interpretation centres" tab already provides information about the Serra de Santa Bárbara Interpretation Centre on Terceira Island, the Park House and Eco-museum on São Jorge Island, and the House Park on São Miguel. In addition, the contents about Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Centre on Faial Island were also renewed.