The regional secretary of Agriculture and Environment visits an intervention carried out, as a matter of urgency, on Estrada das Ginjas, which connects Paul da Serra to São Vicente, and which has been the target of criticism from the opposition. The intervention, carried out by the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN), was justified by the executive by the need to guarantee access and prevent forest fires, control the spread of invasive species in an area that is part of the Laurissilva.
A “surgical intervention” to remove invasive species, which has not been carried out since 2019, is what the Institute of Forestry and Nature Conservation is doing on Estrada dos Ginjas. This morning, the regional secretary of Agriculture and Environment, responsible for IFCN and several members of the Secretariat are visiting the work, which has been ‘talk of the world’ with several controversies. In the specific case of the ongoing intervention, several opposition parties have criticised it, denouncing that there has been intervention in widening the road and harvesting endemic plants from the Laurissilva Forest.
Manuel Filipe assured that this was not the case, reinforcing that the operation aims to clean the road at a time before the fire season, ensuring the accessibility of resources in the event of incidents of this type. Rafaela Fernandes highlighted the ongoing work, carried out by specialized people and members of the forests, “and not by Facebook services”. It should be noted that there is an approved project, awaiting financing, to restore Casa do Caramujo, which will be transformed into a house to support pedestrians and forestry services.
A note also goes to the presence of the PAN in the visit, a circumstance that the government official said was frequent during these trips, praising the fact that it is “a serious party” of Nature, instead of parties that make complaints and denounces without going to the places , staying on social media. Rafaela Fernandes said that PAN was not invited, nor did it have to be, as this was a public visit. Any party could have accompanied the movement, he added.