Instead of the 722,24 hectares of avocado plantation planned for Alcácer do Sal, promoters Aquaterra have reformulated their project to put in for 658,44 hectares of the heavily-irrigated fruit, and reduced the number of boreholes they seek to sink from 34 to 32, writes Expresso. The new project is under public consultation until July 6. Environmentalists and local producers say the reductions are meaningless: the project is “still gigantic”, stresses farmer Luís Dias, in an area blighted by water scarcity – and it will still have substantial impacts on levels of groundwater, and species’ habitats.
Avocado plantation cut back, ‘but to what effect?’
Where is all our water going? Aerial shot of vast area of previously unirrigated land now filled with avocado trees in west Algarve
