Open letter to Environment Minister for ‘lack of commitment’ to Ovar Coast

A member of the Municipal Assembly of Ovar accused the government on Monday of a “lack of commitment” to the problem of increasing coastal erosion in this municipality in the district of Aveiro, where sandy beaches are becoming increasingly scarce.

In an open letter sent to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Fernando Camelo Almeida, who was elected by the SDS-PP but has since left the party, justifies his position with the recent announcement of works in Figueira da Foz and the lack of a measure for Ovar, which the scientific community has identified as one of the regions in Europe where the advance of the sea is most alarming.

Speaking specifically about the critical situation of the beaches of Furadouro, Maceda and Ovar, Deputy Vareiro tells Maria da Graça Carvalho: “The measures planned for our beaches are late and only concern work to strengthen coastal protection, while the government continues to lack commitment to fundamental intervention to truly combat the advance of the sea.”

Admitting that he was “surprised by the minister’s announcement of an investment of 28 million euros in Figueira da Foz”, Fernando Camelo Almeida explains: “I expected that at the same time the intervention that all the men were so eager for on the beaches of Figueira da Foz would be announced by the municipality of Ovar”.

The Municipal Assembly member stresses that without state intervention, the problem of the Maseda pine forest dump “could lead to an environmental disaster”, since the dump is buried on top of a cliff that loses trees and soil every year due to the force of the waves and the buried waste could end up on the beach.

“This problem has been going on for a long time, with election promises from successive governments, but without any solution. Meanwhile, the sea advances very quickly and the sand disappears, putting people and goods at risk and causing harmful effects on the local economy,” says Fernando Camelo Almeida.

The MP thus questions Maria da Graça Carvalho about her plans for a “deep intervention on the beaches of Ovar that goes beyond simply protecting the coast” and asks the minister to provide “specific information”.

“Here in Ovar, we are tired of being lied to by various governments and at the moment we just want concrete answers to our biggest problem. I have nothing against the investments announced in Figueira da Foz, but I cannot understand how it is possible that they have left the municipality of Ovar from the outside,” concludes the local elected official.

Lusa contacted the Ministry of Environment to ask for comment on the letter and the measures planned to stop coastal erosion in Ovar, but did not receive a response.