Quercus asks for project lead that provides for the slaughter of cork oaks in Sines

A environmental association Quercus today asked for the lead of the deforestation project of the Industrial Zone and Logistics of Sines (ZILS), which provides for the slaughter of 3,593 corks, whose public consultation ends this Thursday.

In a statement, Quercus urged the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) to fail the project that provides for the installation of industrial and logistics units in ZILS, in Setúbal district.

According to the environmental association, the opinion unfavorable to the project promoted by the aicep Global Parques, managing entity of ZILS, is due to “the magnitude of environmental impacts”.

The opinion also took into account the “contradictions identified in the Environmental Impact Study (EIA)” and the “absence of justification for such an intervention”.

This concerns the deforestation of 347.62 hectares of ZILS Execution Unit A2 to prepare land for the installation of new industrial and logistics units.

Among the main concerns are the “destruction of almost 350 hectares of forest, the specific slaughter of 3,593 cork oaks, the allocation of priority habitats and breeding sites of vulnerable birds”.

As a compensatory measure, “the planting of 32.79 hectares is proposed, which does not guarantee immediate ecological equivalence,” he argued.

Also the deforestation planned for that area raises concerns, taking into account the “loss of carbon storage and sequestration capacity”.

According to Quercus, the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) itself “estimates emissions of 32,403 tonnes” of equivalent carbon dioxide, while the expected “compensation potential” is “only about 1,176 tonnes”.

In the note, the organization also warned of the project's direct impact on the destruction of protected habitats and classified areas.

Another of the problems identified is the timing of the work, which, according to the association, provides for interventions in sensitive periods for the reproduction of birds, contrary to “protective measures established in the EIA”.

“The slaughter of trees in nesting sites can cause the destruction of nests, the mortality of eggs and pups, the abandonment of breeding territories and the permanent loss of habitat essential to reproduction”, can be read.

The organisation warned of the risks of soil erosion and sediment dragging during the rainy season, as well as the possible consequences of future soil waterproofing in flood risk.

The environmental association also identified the “lack of transparency and incongruity” between the EIA and the respective Non-Technical Summary, considering that “it prevents citizens from correctly assessing the environmental consequences of the project”.

For the President of Quercus, Alexandra Azevedo, quoted in the statement, “the loss of natural heritage is immediate and, in many cases, irreversible, while the proposed compensation may take decades to produce results”.

In the statement, the association defended the exclusion of priority habitats, areas of high ecological sensitivity and corkscrolling cores, the conditioning of deforestation to the existence of duly approved and licensed projects and the revision of the deforestation schedule.

It also required effective compensation for carbon emissions associated with deforestation, wildlife protection plans, erosion prevention, control of invasive species and fire prevention.

The flood study with the waterproofing of the affected hectares and the independent environmental monitoring, with public results, and the republication of the corrected Non-Technical Summary, were other requirements.