The organizations that have defended the Laurissilva forest (SPEA, AAPEF, ANP/WWF, GEOTA, FAPAS, LPN, QUERCUS, SPECO and ZERO) express, in a statement, that they “receive with enthusiasm and increased hope” the statements from the Regional Secretary of Agriculture and Environment, which consolidated the withdrawal of funds allocated to the Ginjas road in the Budget of the Regional Government of Madeira for 2024.
“An authentic oxygen balloon that leads us to consider that the first battle has been won. A victory that is the result of the joint work of these non-governmental organizations, which gave a negative opinion in the public discussion process of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) and, more recently, filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court of Funchal to challenge the Impact Statement Environmental favorable to this construction that mortgages the future of the Laurissilva Forest, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site”, can be read in the aforementioned note.
“This action of ours has stopped the project, for now, and we hope that this pause will help justice to act, and that more time will also bring greater lucidity to the new rulers with the responsibility of protecting the natural asset of the Laurissilva forest”, says Domingos Leitão , executive director of SPEA.