Portugal

At the IPMA – the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (1), ECO123 talked with Dr. Pedro Viterbo, a member of the IPCC – the International Panel on Climate Change (2) in order to find out more details on the IPCC’s report and its conclusions. We also questioned him about the role of the IPCC in government decisions and sought to learn more about the actions necessary to fostering sustainability in the economy and its ecology without mortgaging the future of generations to come. ECO123: What is the IPCC?   Pedro Viterbo: The IPCC is a panel set up …

Hiking signifies a return to our roots, to our innate speed, and to an original form of life. It will repeatedly remind us that it is only for a short time that we are guests on this planet, which we have subdued. Wouldn’t we do better to see ourselves just as part of the whole: with nature, the forests, the animals, with all our earth’s resources? We also go walking to see with our own eyes how the countryside develops from year to year. When we go walking, our thoughts become sharper. All our senses are awake and feel, see, …

The IPCC is the body responsible for assessing climate change. It was set up by the United Nations Environment Organisation and by the World Meteorology Organisation. Its aim is to be an independent scientific body, focusing on analysing climate change and its main environmental and socio-economic implications. Its collaborators, from all over the world, carry out specialist work, but on an voluntary basis, which ensures that there is a wide range of opinions and points of view which are reflected in the conclusions they present.

An old proverb tells us that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In the case of the Templo Hindu in Lisbon, I wouldn’t be surprised if some devotees had started by visiting the canteen. In Lisbon, as throughout the world, there is no shortage of Indian restaurants. But restaurants, Indian or not, are just that: restaurants. A canteen in a Hindu temple, which serves home-made Indian food, is, in comparison, a parallel universe and probably the best way for one’s stomach to visit India without leaving Lisbon. Hinduism is the main religion of India, and nutrition …

Guide to second-hand shops The purchase of used items tends increasingly to be linked to the crisis, but second-hand shops have always existed all over the place. There are lots of people for whom buying used goods is a lifestyle, either for financial reasons, or because what they are looking for is no longer produced. Some shops specialise in clothing, some in records, furniture or books, and others are more general and sell all types of things, rather like mini-versions of Lisbon’s Feira da Ladra. This market is still the place for second-hand items par excellence, despite the proliferation of …

At present, there is a population of 6,045 living in an area of 396 square kilometres, surrounded by hills and forests. 76% of these are eucalyptus plantations. During the most recent forest fires in 2003, 317 square kilometres of forest burned in ten days, i.e. 80% of the municipality. A trauma that still lives on today because the fire brigade were barely able to put the fires out. Twelve years before, in 1991, fires raged in Monchique for a week. Again and again, the upland forests catch fire and destroy the small-scale farming livelihoods of the inhabitants even more. And …

Already on the Alfa Pendular service. With a CO2 emission of but four kilograms, the journalist leaves the Portuguese south behind to speed north at 220 km and recalls his immediate past. A few days ago, he’d taken to his wardrobe in order to dig out his old, best suit to check that it would stand up to the needs of this mission. He needed a suit in tip-top condition and that also fitted him well as he was due to play the role of a wealthy investor. A test but the means by which he hoped to open the …

ECO123: What is needed in order not to have forest fires in Portugal in 2014? Fernando Castelo, former chief of the voluntary fire-fighters of Portimão, in the senior officers reserve, responded: More inspection activity is needed, for example in the case of burning and clearing the land, and penalising those people who do not comply with the law. T his is the work of the security forces, especially the GNR, but there should be a role involving more intervention by the fire brigades, through a change in the law. There should also be information and training campaigns carried out among …

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 …