Desertification, Erosion Accelerate In Portugal As Leaders Talk On And On

[hatrack]

EDIT

Among the most pressing environmental problems faced by Portugal are the loss of biodiversity and the impoverishment of the soil. More than half of the national territory of 92,000 sq km is threatened by desertification, and one-third by severe erosion. In addition, the forest fires that swept Portugal from 2003 to 2005 destroyed 80 percent of the country's forests, which were replaced by fast-growth exotic species like eucalyptus, that deplete the soil and water resources, exacerbating erosion.

De Castro said that to the threat of desertification must be added "attacks on the landscape, a lack of zoning and land use regulation, and chaotic urban growth, with the ‘cement transformation' of the coast under the pretext of ‘public interest'." She described that transformation as "a feverish process of erosion of around 80 percent of our coastline, caused by unauthorised construction, building on dangerous areas like cliffs and hillsides, the destruction of sand dunes, and the illegal extraction of sand."

With respect to the country's rivers, she noted that "more than half are seriously polluted, including the Tajo estuary, one of the world's 10 largest wetland systems." There are also serious problems with the disposal of garbage, the constant increase of which "is a symptom of the absence of a strategy to modify environmentally harmful patterns of behaviour and consumption habits," said de Castro. These necessary modifications would constitute "a revolution that has been postponed, and that would require allies and innovative ideas on how to reach people," she said. "This same revolution is also needed in terms of water use and to bring about a new culture that would put an end to wasteful habits."

De Castro further complained about the situation in the energy sector, pointing out that "the enormous growth in polluting emissions has driven up the country's fuel bill, hurt human health, and led to incompliance with the Kyoto (climate change) commitments." According to the European Union report presented at the December 2005 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions - which contribute to climate change, global warming and the greenhouse effect - will have increased by 42 percent between 2008 and 2012, making the country the most heavily polluting member of the bloc.

EDIT

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33495