Ninety-two motorhomers and campers were fined last weekend for parking their vehicles or setting up camp in “unauthorised areas” near 24 beaches along the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Nature Park.
The operation was carried out by the Algarve’s regional delegation of the Nature and Forest Conservation Institute (ICNF), GNR police and maritime authorities and aimed to “discourage illegal and degrading practices” along the protected Costa Vicentina park.
“Wild camping and motorhoming are problems that have been identified for a long time and lead to the destruction of habitats, some of them protected,” said the regional ICNF delegation in a communiqué to the press.
It added that many of these wild campers and motorhomers dump rubbish illegally, damaging the natural beauty of the area.
The operation involved 35 people (17 ICNF workers, 14 GNR officers and four maritime police officers).
Last month, the president of the Association of Campsites of the Alentejo and Algarve (APCAA) urged authorities to clamp down on illegal camping and motorhoming as a way of forcing campers to opt for legal alternatives such as campsites (click here).
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