“Nature reminds us, almost every day, that the impacts of climate – and our harmful and objectionable behavior in this world – are becoming more and more serious, with meteorological phenomena becoming more extreme and more regular”, starts by framing the party.
“Almost every night, the news shows us examples, all over the planet, of the damage that we are causing and the devastating and dramatic/catastrophic effects of that same damage. To deny this evidence is to want to deny reality, it is to want to deny that we have to change (and now) and put the future of humanity itself at risk.
For NÓS, Cidadãos!, the Regional Secretary for the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Susana Prada, did not tell the whole truth when she said yesterday, in Porto Santo, that Porto Santo beach “was magnificent at the beginning of the year, but the storm came to Óscar” and “the energy of the waves came to fetch sand from the beach”.
Whereas:
a) the increase in temperature is accelerating the melting of ice in traditionally frozen regions – in mountain glaciers and, more importantly, in Greenland and Antarctica –, thereby accelerating the rise in sea level, leading to an increase in the risk of flooding in low coastal areas where millions of people live all over the world, and Portugal is also a case of this;
b) the rise in sea level is an extremely serious threat, both for our economies, as well as for the cities and people who live close to the sea and who will necessarily have to relocate (a fact not evidenced by any regional and national political leader) ;
c) coastal erosion and the advance of the sea are a reality and the retreat of the coastline is also already the case in some locations in mainland Portugal, as the sea, in the recent past, destroyed properties and assets and will continue to do so ( for this reason, the last constructions carried out on top of the dunes, in Porto Santo, which also contributed on a large scale to the disappearance of the beach sand);
d) coastal erosion can occur over short time horizons (for example, the instantaneous retreat associated with storms, as was certainly the case with the “Oscar” depression), dependent on seasonal variability, or over longer time periods, at scale interannual or decade and here it is easy to prove it through aerial photographs (aerophotographic coverage) that allow comparing what Porto Santo beach was like in the 80s and 90s of the last century and now, more than 40 years later, and in this way prove the clear and undeniable retreat of its beach);
e) the photos attached to this notice were taken on the 26th of May, that is, before the “Oscar” depression, and already attest not only to the scarcity of sand in parts of the beach, but also to a sand partially covered with pebbles (mantle rocky basaltic or gravel);
f) the one that won the award for the best European beach in 2022, considered one of the seven wonders of Portugal, is losing its sand and the phenomenon is not new, but has been getting worse, especially in recent years;
g) the increase in the volume of heat from the sea has increased dramatically – and especially in the last 25 years – and continues on an upward trajectory, which leads to a direct consequence: maritime storms now cross warmer waters and therefore gain more convection, becoming stronger and more destructive;
h) the situation is already worrying and we have to intervene, as sand is a natural, limited, non-renewable resource, and studies (and several images/photographs) show that nature/sea has taken the sand from Porto Santo beach , but never again brought it back to the same level that dragged it down;
i) it is urgent to carry out a major recharge of sand on Porto Santo beach, and already in 2016 the specialist João Baptista considered it important to have “concerted beach recharge actions, in sectors where sand was also removed in the past for construction civil works and public works, namely next to the Hotel Colombo’s Resort, the Hotel Luamar and even next to the area of Calheta, where there are certain very pronounced depressions, which remain as scars from the removal of this material”.
In view of what was previously stated, but also because it is wrong to lie and destroy the balance of ecosystems (and climate) – and right to tell the truth and give hope to future generations –, the NÓS, Cidadãos! asks the Regional Secretary for the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Susana Prada, to sensibly, analyzing all the studies already carried out, tell the truth about what happened at Praia de Porto Santo and proceed with a large recharge of sand, as we have been removing sand for several years and it has to be replaced! With today’s knowledge and technology, it is possible to do so and provide a satisfactory response that prevents greater damage in the future, damage that we must avoid!”, says the party.