The Government of the Azores will create a Camellias Circuit and advance a plan to enhance the 27 Recreational Forest Reserves to reinforce the conservation of natural heritage, improve accessibility, and strengthen the offering, it was announced today.
The announcement was made by the regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, during the presentation of the results on the Azores’ Forest Reserves, at the Pinhal da Paz Recreational Forest Reserve, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.
The project dedicated to camellias foresees the installation of “a world center for maintenance and conservation” of varieties of this species in the Serrado dos Bezerros Recreational Forest Reserve, in Ponta Garça, in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, “making the Azores unique in the European and global panorama regarding this variety.”
According to António Ventura, the investment is set to start in 2027, with the objective of being completed by the end of that year, and it will be “an intergenerational maintenance center.”
During the session, Carina Nóbrega, from the Regional Directorate of Forest Resources, explained that the future circuit will bring together “more than 400 varieties,” some of them considered rare at a worldwide level.
The technician recalled that the collection currently existing in Pinhal da Paz began to be formed during the space’s recovery, in 1998/1999, and today the site “has more than 30 camellia species acquired.”
According to Carina Nóbrega, many of the camellia varieties were introduced to the Azores “from nurseries in France and Italy.”
“These nurseries and some estates were quite battered by the First and Second World Wars. And there are some camellia varieties that disappeared from Europe and found refuge in the Azores,” she added.
The new space aims to preserve this genetic heritage, to honour figures such as José do Canto and António Borges, as well as the Azorean estates that contributed to the conservation of these species, she noted.
She also explained that the Serrado dos Bezerros was chosen for its altitude and soil conditions particularly favorable to the development of camellias.
In addition to the creation of the camellia project, which, according to the Azorean Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), is “innovative and central,” the Regional Directorate of Forest Resources and Spatial Planning submitted an application to the Açores 2030 program for the enhancement of the Recreational Forest Reserves.
According to the regional Secretary for Agriculture, the project contemplates interventions in the 27 reserves existing in the region, including improvements to leisure and picnic areas, viewpoints, support facilities, spaces for interpretation of flora and fauna, and the creation of inclusive circuits for people with reduced mobility.
“We want to improve accessibility so that everyone can enjoy this living heritage,” António Ventura told journalists, adding that some interventions have already begun and will continue in 2027.
The regional secretary also argued that investing in nature is also an investment “in the Azores’ main tourist brand.”
“There is no better space to know our natural capital and the history of the Azores than our Forest Recreation Reserves,” he said, highlighting the role of the Forest Services in the conservation of endemic and native species and in promoting the population’s well-being.
According to the Azorean government’s estimates, last year the 27 reserves were frequented by about 400,000 visitors, a number that is expected to be reached again this year.
António Ventura also said that “the maintenance of these spaces costs about 1.5 million euros annually” and admitted that, in the future, a differentiation between residents and visitors in access to the spaces could be considered, with Azoreans continuing to benefit from “free accessibility.”
