Local watchdog accuses Government of avocado monoculture environmental corruption

As many of us know, the negative impacts of avocado monocultures in the Algarve are no secret. Some even argue that it is becoming Europe’s equivalent to palm oil in South East Asia. “Terra Saudável” a small group of citizens, are calling out the Ministry of Agriculture for not doing their jobs properly, as these vast avocado plantation behemoths are not being assessed by the Government.

The citizens' movement was born in Lagos to fight the proliferation of harmful agricultural practices which these plantations are prime examples of. They lead to soil erosion and the development of environmentally damaging and water-intensive monocultures, especially draining in drought situations such as the one the region currently finds itself in.

The group wants to push for avocado plantations to undergo Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), which clearly goes against the interests of the official governmental entities who allow foreign companies to come to the Algarve and destroy extensive areas of countryside for monetary gain.

Moreover, the Communists’ Party of the Algarve and the Portuguese Environment Agency both agree with the group, arguing that there must be an EIA prior to planting. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture says that “(…) depending on the location, nature and, above all, the size of the project in question. (…) the assumptions that could justify subjecting the project to an EIA procedure might make it not necessary”. This model of determining which plantations should undergo an EIA and which should not seems very subjective, and obviously allows for extremely environmentally-damaging projects to be approved as long as an official says that it is “in the right location.”

The group also point out that due to the Ministry of Agriculture’s incompetence when it comes to sustainable agricultural practices, “aquifers across the Algarve are disappearing or being poisoned.” Terra Saudável gives a concrete example of a monoculture in Barão de São João that is allegedly draining the surrounding water availability and contaminating aquifers with glyphosate, since 2018.

Furthermore, they assert that this type of agriculture has “a variety of negative impacts not only on water resources, but on other environmental factors."

“Preparing the land so that this planting can take place, removing rocks and moving soil, it all has the effect of reducing soil infiltration capacity, which will reduce groundwater availability and affect aquifer water quality, ”explained the group.

“The use of pesticides such as glyphosate, which has already begun to contaminate groundwater,” they add. The group has evidence that contamination is already taking place, since through water analyses carried out back in 2018, glyphosate levels have been shown to be 25 times higher than those allowed by EU legislation in some aquifers.

The main concern of the Lagos citizens’ movement is battling with the sudden proliferation of avocado plantations in recent years, as well as “other types of monoculture that contribute to the destruction of the soil, and aggravate the water problem facing the Algarve, which exacerbates the problem of drought." The group say that they will continue to fight in defence of the Algarve’s natural heritage, concluding that they will “count on the courts, if necessary".

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