The Municipality of Loulé has launched the site areasprotegidas.cm-loule.pt, dedicated to the five local protected areas of the municipality: the local protected landscapes Rocha da Pena and Fonte Benémola, the Local Natural Reserve of Foz do Almargem and Trafal, the Local Natural Reserve Nave do Barão, and the Local Natural Monument Vale Telheiro. These are locally protected areas classified by the municipality itself. The site was launched on October 18, the day that marked sixteen years since Rocha da Pena and Fonte Benémola were classified as local protected landscapes.
Each area has its own page, with its natural and cultural heritage, technical information, and galleries of photographs and videos. The site also brings together the scientific and monitoring projects developed in these areas, proposals to explore them through walking trails, soundscapes and routes of the Algarvensis Geopark, and the news about the activity of each area. According to the municipality, the platform fills a long-identified gap by gathering in one place all available information about these areas and facilitating access to it, and it serves as a transparency and proximity tool for the population, the scientific community, and the entities involved.
“Investing in the environment and in the preservation of natural resources is investing in a future of quality. With this website, we want to bring people closer to our protected areas, so that they know them, value them, and help us take care of them,” says Telmo Pinto, President of the Municipal Chamber of Loulé. The project has the support of European funds, through the Algarve 2030 regional program.
