With new visitor records in the Azores, how do you assess the current impact of tourism on the Azorean landscape?

Tourist activity has had a significant impact on daily life in the region, causing constraints, especially in the most popular places for visitors - environmental areas, viewpoints, among others - which often result in poorly controlled actions, which can then result in material and environmental damage.

Some of these constraints can be mitigated with better planning in territorial terms, timetables duly articulated with various tourist agents, as well as the creation of new points of interest outside sensitive areas, along with greater promotion of the use of public transport to the detriment of private vehicles.

Although there are shortcomings in consolidating the model, we believe that the use of the Lagoa do Fogo shuttle was a transformative measure, which we hope will benefit from better operation in future seasons, as well as being applicable elsewhere.

Without the satisfaction of the local community, a tourist destination can never be considered adequate. In addition to the integration of the tourism strategy by the population, which is always disturbed by daily activity, it is crucial to pay workers in the sector a decent wage and to prevent locals from suffering the consequences of the escalating price of goods and services.

What measures does Friends of the Azores advocate to reconcile tourism and nature in the Azores and what role can the new Tourism Management Plan for the Autonomous Region of the Azores (POTRAA) play in this regard?

The current POTRAA, which was published 15 years ago and suspended 13 years ago, is an idle and out of context document.

It is worth noting that, given this situation, the authorization of new hotel units has been based on decisions by the Council of Government, without there being an evaluation system with clear, legally defined criteria.

POTRAA needs to be urgently and effectively revised, defining public policies for hotels and other types of accommodation, as well as for transport, strengthening public transport and regulating rental vehicles available on each island.

It is important to define strategies to determine the carrying capacity of visitable protected areas and associated public infrastructures, the elements of which should serve as a basis for planning and designing future interventions.

Is the creation of new Marine Protected Areas in the Azores, the legislation for which was recently in public consultation, a positive and well-thought-out measure?

It is a positive initiative, aimed at strengthening the protection and preservation of ecosystems and marine biodiversity, although the process is very much conditioned by the desires of extractive fishing activities.

However, it is regrettable that non-governmental environmental organizations are not more widely represented at the participatory process meetings, due to the lack of invitation from the organizing bodies.

Since this first phase focuses on oceanic marine areas, which are very vast and far from the islands, it is considered crucial to operationalize their control and surveillance, using new technological means that have not been available until now, such as drones, satellites, among others.

We are looking forward to the proposals for coastal areas, up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, which we hope will be drawn up in line with the work already done and with a greater level of public participation and involvement.

What is Friends of the Azores' assessment of waste management on the island of São Miguel, given the growth in tourism and at a time when the incinerator is already under construction?

As you know, the region has adopted a waste management system with an incinerator on each of the two largest islands.

The incinerator on Terceira Island has been in operation for some years and, even though it is disposing of waste from old landfill pockets, it is operating below its installed capacity.

Furthermore, it should be noted that with the operation of this incinerator, recycling has decreased on Terceira Island, where there is an urgent need to install a mechanical and biological waste treatment plant - which TERAMB is responsible, and which will maximize recycling to the detriment of incineration.

The current situation on Terceira Island allows us to foresee an identical scenario for São Miguel Island, namely with the start-up of an incinerator that local authorities themselves assume will be manifestly oversized by 2035, given the European recycling targets, as set out in the Azores Strategic Plan for Waste Prevention and Management. The region's major failure in waste management lies in its lack of commitment to the first of the 3 Rs, i.e. reducing its production. The best waste is that which is avoided. In terms of tourism, it is important to estimate the tourist intensity of each island and its impact on waste production, as well as initiatives aimed at reducing its impact on waste collection, which often ends up burdening residents.

What are your comments on the recent decision by the Regional Government to authorize the slaughter of some species of non-game birds for crop protection? This has been a recurring discussion for several years, which always takes place at the same time of year, depending on the growing season of the vines, with an urgent nature, which is the basis for imperative decisions that are not always well supported
from a technical and scientific point of view.

If agriculture is to be sustainable and have a future, it must necessarily adopt a model of activity that is integrated and in harmony with nature, with increasing respect for the native ecosystem in which it operates, which is not possible with monoculture.

The possible damage caused to crops by native fauna must be minimized by nonviolent methods, of which there is a wide variety, from the most traditional to the most innovative, such as alternative crops, protection with nets or the use of various scaring devices. Finally, when this is not possible, farmers should be compensated for their loss of income.

It seems crucial to us that substantiating studies are carried out and made public, demonstrating the impact of each species on crops, as well as the results of appropriate deterrents and scaring devices, which should always be considered before any decision is made to cull birds.

Although the turtle-dove, the species for which culling was recently permitted, is a recent natural colonizer of the archipelago, no technical or scientific information has been made available to support the authorization.

One of the problems currently affecting the Azorean landscape is the proliferation of invasive flora. What measures should be taken to combat these species more effectively?

The problem of invasive species is one of the main threats to the Azores' natural ecosystems. Although timid steps have been taken to combat the proliferation, especially of invasive flora, namely with the Regional Plan for the Eradication and Control of Invasive Flora Species in Protected Areas, with nature conservation projects developed under LIFE Programs, the lack of a concerted strategy between the various government departments, local authorities and private individuals to combat the proliferation of these species is still evident in the archipelago.

Control actions have often been carried out in small niches and in areas that are not considered a priority for nature conservation. We also believe that there is a lack of ongoing work in areas previously planted with endemics, which are now significantly invaded, as is the case with the Lagoa das Furnas watershed, the subject of a recent piece in this newspaper questioning the management of investment there.

What are the main effects of climate change in the Azores and what measures could be taken to mitigate them?

The extreme weather events that most affect us are those related to water - precipitation, floods, triggering of slope movements, coastal gales - for which we must have more effective prevention and mitigation policies.

For example, we often talk about clearing biomass from waterways and yet we have seen very significant solid loads of vegetation in recent events. Rather than determining responsibility, the focus should be on monitoring and enforcement, involving the various levels of local and regional management.

Adapting to climate change must be everyone's commitment. And everyone, in one way or another, can contribute to mitigating its impacts.
In terms of emissions, we must do our part to contribute globally, by investing in the progressive decarbonization of energy and transport, as well as agriculture and other primary activities.

However, we must not buy into the common idea that our commitment to decarbonization should only be measured by the use of electric motors. Saving energy in a home, car sharing, using public transport or reducing the use of plastics are, among other things, measures that we can all take and contribute to reducing our carbon footprint.

n short, the big focus should be on reducing energy consumption, without any loss of quality of life, which is only possible with greater energy efficiency and a big focus on education.