Battling Monchique residents are finally “sleeping easy” – the latest threat to their day-to-day lives officially thwarted.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be another bid by any one of the mining companies that have been vying for permission to extract feldspar and other minerals from Monchique’s hillside for decades.
The Movimento contra extração mineira em Monchique knows it has to remain ‘on its toes’.
“Let’s hope there is a pause now before the next try”, veteran campaigner Stephen Hugman of environmental association A Nossa Terra remarked on the publication of the Secretary of State for the Environment Carlos Martin’s refusal to sanction what campaigners and the council have already decried as a “nonsense environmental impact study” backing the bid.
The DIA (environmental impact declaration) took campaigners’ multiple points and protests into account, actually mentioning some by name: Theo Nordeloos, for example, another stalwart of the anti-mining lobby, who outlined the threat mining activity would have on the local economy and rural tourism businesses; Júlia Silva, who cited no less than 10 negative impacts – and Ana Carla Cabrita de Conceição who listed all the national and international protections that would have been overriden had the government licensed Rio Maior company Sifucel to start extraction work at Corte Pequena.
The victory is testament to the fact that when local people band together, they can move mountains – or, in this case, ensure that mountains are left intact.
“Well done everyone. This is great news”, said Ewen Hentall, the chairman of the anti-mining group that came together to fight a similar bid almost six years ago, adding:
“We must continue to be vigilant and keep an eye open for any further development, legal or otherwise”.
The Resident pre-empted this week’s news in May – after Ewen Hentall had “a chance meeting” with Monchique mayor Rui André (click here). But it is still significant, as the announcement finally makes it “official”.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
