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There are regions and economic areas that are sustainable and others that are not. And all it took was for a virus to hitch a lift on the back of tourism, travelling around the world and spreading disease and death, to prove the absurdity that reigns in the hospitality industry. In other words, it is the virus that has shown us that there are limits to tourism in our lives. Is this coronavirus the beginning of the end for a generation accustomed to travelling without limits and the beginning of the end for the tourism sector? For more than 250 …

A change of course? Certainly. From this edition onwards, ECO123 will have a piece dedicated to transport. Three well-known politicians also sought to set their own course on Wednesday 13 May. In this final phase of the first wave of Covid-19, they went to visit the Autoeuropa factory in Palmela. But we haven’t forgotten about the fraudulent software that was installed in millions of Volkswagen diesel cars. It led to a wave of lawsuits being brought worldwide against the German automobile industry. We will cover the development of this story with reports on our website. And we understand that it …

The latest trend in monoculture – apart from the super-intensive cultivation of olives and avocados – can be found under plastic on the southwest coast of the Alentejo. Seemingly endless rows of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries stretch out in polytunnels in the Natural Park of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast. In late 2019, the Portuguese government decided to expand agriculture in the park, a measure that has raised questions about law enforcement, natural values and who is actually monitoring the use of water in the area. “It’s turning into another Almería,” says Maurício, from Aljezur, concerned about the …

by Theobald Tiger How are you coping without your football on Sundays, dancing on Saturdays and Mass on Fridays? Were you content with a slower way of life during the State of Emergency? And are you content now, during this current State of Calamity? Maybe your life isn’t that easy. There are several factors that complicate our relationship with the world, like fear of the pandemic and anxiety surrounding economic survival. Fear kills our connection to others, and prevents us from accessing the world around us. It makes us retreat into ourselves. In modern societies, people often put off the …

The protection of the climate is a question of education, knowledge and resulting attitudes Our story starts with practical information about how we can now begin to abandon energy obtained from coal, gas and petrol and use renewable energy instead, powered by the sun, wind, and water. We present solutions instead of provoking panic! It is also a question of using fewer resources and reusing those which we are already using. In 2011, before the launch of the first edition, we invested in two 40-panel photovoltaic systems. Follow our example! With this investment, we started to produce clean energy for …

A proteção do clima é uma questão de formação, conhecimento e atitude consequente A nossa história começa pela informação de como se pode, concretamente e consequentemente, abandonar as energias do carvão, do gás e do petróleo, para passar de forma prática para a energias renováveis obtidas através do sol, vento ou água. Apresente soluções em vez de provocar o pânico! Trata-se também, concretamente, de usar menos recursos e reutilizar os recursos aplicados. Em 2011, antes até do lançamento da primeira revista ECO123, investimos em duas centrais fotovoltaicas de 40 painéis. Sigam o nosso exemplo! Com esse investimento, iniciámos a produção …

izzy’s market, vila do bispo   If you are en route to Cabo de São Vicente, you should take the opportunity to visit IZZY’S MARKET in Vila do Bispo. This restaurant is a little hard to find, being located in a housing development between the town hall and that supermarket with the blue and yellow logo. Furthermore, it isn’t always easy to find a place to park in Senhora do Amparo. The place in question is a small café which also doubles as an organic food shop. We can particularly recommend the lunchtime dishes of the day. When we were …

Over the last few decades, tourism has become increasingly important to society, with an inevitable impact on the most visited tourist regions. Initially, they saw improvements in working and social conditions, and now they benefit from increased mobility and accessibility. But can tourism be sustainable, or at least contribute to sustainability? João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourism Board (RTA), which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2020, believes that sustainable tourism is possible and explains why. But do we still have time? The rapid growth in tourism has outstripped the implementation of decarbonisation technologies. How do you view this issue? …

Algarve: He’s a photographer, who cherishes the Algarve weather and relates to the region like a fine piece of filigree jewellery. His name is Filipe da Palma. What drives him, he confesses, is the opportunity to go out and take photographs… and to feel everything around him. “This nourishes the deeper side of me, it’s what keeps me sane.” He does this because he feels the need to share the beautiful, but also the ugly, something that lies between identity and reality: “I also like to show the wounded Algarve, the scars and small tumours that are scattered throughout the …