5,500 in 6 weeks, did they only work for 1 or 2 days ??? This is where it all goes wrong, from the incompetence of the Authorities.
The Forestry Police Corps (CPF) inspected 5,538 users on classified pedestrian routes in Madeira since the beginning of April, as part of the operation to control the Accessible Routes Tax (TPA) and verify compliance with the rules for using official trails. According to the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN), 43 fines were issued for failure to pay the mandatory access fee to classified routes. The infractions resulted in fines of 50 euros, paid at the time of inspection.
In addition to these situations, the IFCN has recorded seven infractions since the beginning of the year for illegally entering closed trails, involving eight offenders. In these cases, fines of 250 euros were applied. Among the trails most targeted by the inspection actions are PR1 (Vereda do Areeiro), PR6 (Levada das 25 Fontes, in Rabaçal), PR17 (Caminho do Pináculo and Folhadal) and PR12 (Caminho Real da Encumeada). In the case of Vereda do Areeiro (PR1), partially reopened on May 1st, five users have already been identified without paying the mandatory fee.
The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture, Eduardo Jesus, states that the numbers demonstrate the strengthening of the inspection and monitoring of classified routes, emphasizing that the objective is to guarantee the safety of visitors and protect the natural heritage of the Region.
The IFCN also revealed that it had recently received a complaint about the violation of the closure of the section between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo, on PR1, a situation that prompted the filing of a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) due to damage to access control infrastructure.