The west coast of the Algarve and Alentejo is now an official candidate for inclusion in UNESCO’s ‘Natural Heritage’ section.
Four municipalities in the Alentejo and the Algarve have applied due to the area’s "unparalleled natural and geological value and its recognised interest worldwide."
The application will be presented to UNESCO by the municipalities in which lies the Natural Park of the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.
Sines and Beja councils in the Alentejo, and Aljezur and Vila do Bispo councils in the Algarve have joined forces.
Beja council is leading the application and explained today that the joint application seeks UNESCO approval for the west coast as a Natural World Heritage Site as it has a unique biodiversity, level of preservation and wealth of landscape.
The recognition of these values by UNESCO could stop any future loss of key natural and heritage value for the region, ‘for the country and for humanity’ and could also help in the opposition to oil and gas drilling off the coastline with attendant risk to a UNESCO area.
In 2004, UNESCO’s National Commission proposed that the Alentejo Coast joined the waiting list for recognition as a Natural World Heritage Site and the Commission recently began a review process of those areas on the list, including the ‘Natural Park of the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.’
