Quercus challenged today the authorization by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) for the passage of the Volta a Portugal through Mata da Albergaria, in Gerês, warning that the conditions do not nullify the environmental impacts and create “a serious precedent”.
The environmental association argues that Mata da Albergaria “is not a place” for the race’s passage and calls for a change of the route, recalling that, “in the presence of viable alternatives, the conservation of one of the most sensitive areas of Portugal’s only national park must prevail”.
The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) announced that the passage of the 7th Volta a Portugal cycling race through Mata da Albergaria, on Thursday, will be conditioned “to strong biodiversity protection measures”, such as a prohibition on public access.
For Quercus, the imposed restrictions, including the prohibition of public presence in the most sensitive sectors, the limitation of support vehicles and the exclusion of aerial means and sound amplification, could reduce some of the impacts.
However, in a statement, it warns that they do not resolve the fundamental issue: “The organization of a nationally significant sports competition, accompanied by a large entourage and all the logistics inherent to the event, in the ecologically most sensitive area of the only Portuguese National Park.”
It notes that Mata da Albergaria includes areas of partial protection of Type I and is bordered, in part of the route, by areas of full protection.
“If there is a natural area in Portugal that needs, and deserves, to benefit from maximum protection, it is this Mata, one of the last refuges of our original forest,” defend the environmentalists.
In their view, the authorization also raises doubts about its compatibility with the Peneda-Gerês National Park Management Plan (PNPG).
“The car and tourist pressure that Mata da Albergaria already endures should justify measures to reduce and regulate traffic, and it does not constitute a justification for holding new large-scale events,” it argues.
Quercus stresses that, to date, no public assessment has been presented of Mata da Albergaria’s carrying capacity, the cumulative effects of visitation, or the effectiveness of the measures now announced for this stage.
It considers that “the decision creates a precedent that could open the doors of sensitive areas to similar events”, thereby exceeding the impacts directly caused during the cyclists’ passage.
Quercus’s concerns are also shared by members of the PNPG’s Strategic Council and by the former park director Henrique Miguel Pereira, notably with regard to questions about the legality of the decision, the precedent that could be created, and the message sent to society.
Quercus acknowledges the importance of the Volta a Portugal, cycling, and the contribution that major sporting events can make to the promotion and valorization of territories, but warns that such valorization must “be compatible with the conservation objectives of protected areas”.
Quercus therefore appeals to the ICNF and to the Volta a Portugal organizers to rethink the route and remove the passage of the 7th stage through Mata da Albergaria, also excluding it from future editions of the race.
It also requests that the technical and legal justification that supported this authorization be made public, allowing a transparent assessment of its compatibility with management and protection instruments.
