Association warns of the importance of protecting the Azores’ pristine forest

The Association for the Promotion of the Environment of the Azores (APPAA) said this Monday that protecting the region’s primeval forest is “very important to prevent water shortages” and “protection from the effects of storms” that are becoming more “frequent”.

The position of the Association for the Promotion and Protection of the Environment of the Azores is set out in a press release regarding the celebration of the World Day of Forests and Trees, Water and Meteorology on March 21, 22 and 23 respectively.

“The region has sparse land, recent geological formation and little consolidation, and slightly diverse biodiversity, so it is more sensitive to any natural imbalance,” the association warns, noting that the archipelago is subject to “longer periods of no rainfall” and “increasingly frequent extreme meteorological events.

For APPAA, the best way to mitigate the damage caused after the settlement of the islands is to “replace native plants on steeper slopes and on the banks of streams and other natural watercourses.”

According to the association, transplanting native plants “more than some building work will avoid landslides and floods” that are often “catastrophic” and cause “great damage”.

The lack of water supplies justifies the measures taken to artificially retain it, but the Association for the Promotion and Defense of the Environment argues that in the particular case of the islands of Graciosa, Pico and Santa Maria, “a significant expansion of the area covered by native plants will be an important contribution to greater water retention, its penetration into the soil and replenishment of its underground reserves.

APPAA emphasizes that agricultural, forestry and environmental policies, which should be “coordinated with each other”, should identify “areas of greatest importance and urgency to replace the region’s original vegetation cover”.

The association expresses its support for ongoing measures to protect and replant native plants, many of which are endemic, in classified areas where natural forests or Laurissilva still dominate, and in other vulnerable areas.

APPAA calls on all authorities in the region, municipalities and social institutions to “collaborate with the Regional Secretariats for Agriculture and Forests and for Environment and Climate Change” to “better” protect the forest, create native plants and combat invasive species.

The Association considers environmental information and education as “essential” as well as public awareness to protect local vegetation.