Hundreds of fish have died at the Foz do Almargem lagoon in Quarteira, which has started to dry up as it is practically cut off from any other water source. Environmentalists are blaming the problem on ālack of action from local and regional authoritiesā.
Green organisation Almargem says that though many proposals have been presented by environmental groups to carry out conservation work at the lagoon, the bids have always been ignored or rejected by official entities.
In a statement, it accuses LoulĆ© council of ānever wanting to seriously deal with this problemā despite having had many chances and means to do so.
Almargem says the council decided, in a 2009 debate, that the lagoon was ālegally protected well enoughā by the current municipal masterplan (PDM) and Vilamoura-VRSA coastal plan (POOC).
It adds that, at the time, āa large part of the land had been bought by the controversial businessman AprĆgio Santos who planned to build a tourist development thereā.
The association says the āyears go by, and though Foz do Almargem hasnāt yet been irreversibly destroyed, nothing is done to avoid the degradation of its habitatsā.
On a closing note, Almargem calls on LoulĆ© council and other entities to ācreate, present and implementā a plan to recover Foz do Almargem and turn it into a ātrue natural attractionā.
