GREEN PARTY MP, Heloísa Apolónia, is calling for urgent action to stop the collapse of cliffs at Olho de Boi, alongside the River Tejo in Almada and at Sesimbra over the fishing harbour.
“The instability of this coastline has already been the subject of a report carried out by the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza (ICN) in 2003 that pointed out the ‘urgent need for intervention’,” explained Heloísa Apolónia.The report referred to the urgent necessity for human interference due to the “dangerous instability” of the coast.
The MP blames the ruling party for ignoring the issue, saying: “This report came out in 2003, but nothing has been done. We believe that there is no political will to resolve the situation and act before there is a problem here.”
After visiting the dangerous area at Olho de Boi, together with Henrique Carreiras, Councillor for Public Safety from Almada Câmara, Apolónia moved on to Sesimbra, surveying the area close to the fishing port and the cliffs overlooking the road. Again she calls attention to the inefficiency of the ruling party: “Three years ago there was a very severe winter that caused the road to be blocked and traffic to be diverted inside the harbour. The situation is still the same. Nothing has been done because the Instituto de Estradas de Portugal (Portugal Roads’ Institute) is blaming the Ministry for the Environment and vice versa, so we have a hopeless stalemate situation.”
