Interviews

Commandant  of the Special Firefighting Force – National Civil Defence Authority ECO123: What is needed for there to be no forest fires in Portugal? That’s impossible, whatever we do from 2013 to 2014, it’s impossible. In any case, we must firstly try to minimise forest fires, mainly the number, because our country has a very large number when compared with the rest of Europe. By reducing the number of fires, we will be more effective in firefighting as there will be more resources available, and we will certainly be able to respond in a more appropriate and balanced manner. To …

The Operations Commander of the Algarve District Group of the ANPC (National Civil Defence Authority) Vítor Vaz Pinto, explained to ECO123 what measures had been taken to avoid fires in the Algarve in 2014: There is a concerted effort for fire prevention, the responsibility of three bodies: the Nature Conservation Institute, for the structural and awareness-raising part; the National Republican Guard (GNR), for prevention activities, namely vigilance, detection and inspection; and the National Civil Defence Authority for the coordination of the firefighting work, reflash watch and vigilance after the fire. Based on civil defence operations recorded in 2012, the District …

José Eduardo, aged 55; mechanic, hunter and farmer ECO123: What can we do to avoid forest fires in Portugal? First and foremost is prevention, clearing the forests. I am not in disagreement with what is spent, including the military. That is all very useful but I think that a lot of money is spent on these things. The same amount of money should ensure that a lot of prevention work is done, clearing, and firebreaks, cutting wide strips of twenty or thirty metres of scrubland in small areas and, even if not in all of them, in properties. It would …

Henrique Pinheiro (aged 53), managing partner of Medal Seguros Lda., representantative of Allianz and Zurich (among others) in Portimão ECO123: How can we avoid fires in Portugal? Henrique Pinheiro: Thirty years ago there were no fires. Why? There were also forests, but they were kept clear. Why don’t we send the military to watch over the forests like in Monchique? And the firefighters need to have better access to the areas, better resources and secure funding. We need to take more care. Clear, protect the land and avoid fires. Firebreaks, tanks and dams… From the point of view of an …

Idália Duarte, aged 55; butcher ECO123: What can we do to avoid forest fires? Clear the forests, care for the forests as was done in the past, when the forests were kept clear. Whether it’s scrubland or old wood, it’s the best that could be done, caring for our forests, making the forests into a garden. What responsibility does eucalyptus have nowadays for the fires? It is already known that eucalyptus is very dangerous for the fires, but if people took care to clear the forests, it could be prevented. The bad thing is not that there is just eucalyptus. …

António da Encarnação, farmer, aged 75 ECO123: What can we do to avoid forest fires in Portugal? We need young farmers. I love the place where I was born. I love it a lot. I’ve always loved it. I’ve never left it to go anywhere else. The best product that we have in Portugal is medronho. We don’t want a subsidy, we want it to be free like it was in the past. I’m 75, I started distilling when I was 13. The most miserable thing that the Portuguese have got is gathering medronho. It’s very badly paid, there’s a …

Doctor Gerd Zabel is a farmer and botanist. He is German, aged 69 and lives in Silves. He is the owner of “Quinta da Figueirinha”, an organic farm with 30 hectares of land, and olive, fig, almond and carob trees. He is experimenting with less flammable trees, as part of a project financed by the EU. The Quinta has drought-resistant agricultural and forest plants to preserve the pasture and control erosion, and fire-resistant trees, shrubs and ground cover to prevent forest fires. The choice of plants is essential, and requires a series of precautions and information about the species, varieties …

There it is in front of the door, and it looks like a completely normal car. Could even be a BMW. You don’t feel the difference until you’re sitting in it. On the dashboard, I find a 17” touch screen. It’s the car’s nerve centre. Roberto explains how it works. The computer (or the NSA) controls the navigation system, the internet connection, the front and rear cameras, the built-in telephone, the media centre, energy consumption and all the other personal control functions which you have to adjust yourself before setting off. You can say that the car is a machine …

To tell the story of SolarImpulse – the first solar aero plane project – we have to begin seven years ago in Switzerland. Here the idea was born. This summer the initiators and pilots André Borschberg and Bernard Piccard flew with it across the USA covering more than 5.600 km despite being confronted with heavy weather challenges. SolarImpulse, the first airplane ever to fly day and night on solar energy only, proved the reliability and efficiency of clean technologies and renewable energies. SolarImpulse took advantage of Switzerland’s long tradition of technological innovation, research and entrepreneurial excellence. Over the centuries this …

Cardinal Peter Turkson grew up in simple circumstances in Ghana. Today he is one of the most influential men in the Vatican. In an interview with ECO123 he calls on Europe’s crisis states to reduce their demands. Pope Francis criticises an “invisible tyranny of the markets” and speaks of a “new dance around the golden calf”. Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? He is my superior, how could I contradict him? (laughs) But seriously: of course the Pope is right. We’ve been living with the financial crisis since 2008, and there is no sign of it disappearing soon. Rather, one nation …