"The Algarve is one of the regions most susceptible to climate change - it is exposed to the risk of coastal erosion, drought, and fire", warned Prime-Minister António Costa this weekend at an inauguration during his visit to Quarteira.
The prime-minister underlined that "the process of climate change has been creating new risks and aggravating the pre-existing risks", being necessary to reach a new level of attentiveness, especially in regions such as the Algarve. Mr. Costa, who made his speech whilst inaugurating a new building for the Regional Command for Emergency and Civil Protection (CREPC) in the Algarve - stressed that “Civil Protection does not exist only to fight forest fires, it exists essentially to develop a culture of safety, based on prevention, protection and swift reaction to catastrophe situations, whatever their nature”.
On the fires, the Head of Government expressed his satisfaction at having finally seen the Court of Auditors' approval of a number of works, which are already underway throughout the country, to implement the government’s plan to fight against future forest fires. These measures total roughly 11 million euros.
Furthermore, discussing the improvements in preparing emergency personnel for catastrophe situations, Mr. Costa highlighted "the great effort in the last decade, in the qualification, equipment, training and modernization of the different agents of civil protection". An example of this is the opening of the CREPC which the prime-minister was present at this weekend, in Loulé, which is the first Regional Command centre that the country has.
As for the new Quarteira Logistics Base (BAL), the prime minister explained that it will serve "not only the region's firefighters, but in particular the reinforcement groups that are sent out to support personnel in the region in some catastrophe situations".
Vítor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, added that this new Logistics Base will have the capacity to accommodate 120 operational personnel. "The new functions of the building will be of added value to Quarteira", expressed the mayor, namely because the structure "reinforces the feeling of security of all residents and tourists". However, more directly, there is another benefit for Quarteira: “municipal firefighters, starting today, will have state-of-the-art facilities here” announced the mayor.
In total, the Regional Command Centre in Loulé, and the BAL, in Quarteira, represent an investment of around 2.6 million euros, which was funded by a partnership between the Loulé Council, the central administration, and EU funds.
But why all this effort in the Algarve, one of the least populous regions in the country? Well, the Prime Minister himself answered this question in his speech. “Tourism is an economic activity that has an extraordinary capacity to mobilize the entire national economic chain. More tourism means more agriculture, more industrial activity, a bigger construction industry, more activity in the area of services, whether in transport, travel agencies, in all commercial activity. And it's not just here in the Algarve. Algarvian tourism is part of the whole of the country's economy”.
In order for tourism to continue to grow and assert its importance in the national economy, "security is absolutely essential". Costa, added that “the growth of our tourism is not only due to the excellence of our beaches, the beauty of our mountains, our gastronomy, the friendliness of the Portuguese and, in particular, the Algarve, but also to another factor that is not irrelevant for those who have to decide where to go on vacation: it is safety”.
Therefore, he concluded that by “investing in security today, we are also investing in the economic and social development of this entire region in the future".
