The Dunas Livres Platform, through the Dunas Livres Association, filed a precautionary measure, at the Administrative Court of Beja on February 22nd, to urgently stop work on the dune terrain of Tróia, in the Operational Planning Units (UNOP 7 and 8 ), where urbanization work began for the “Na Praia” Tourist Complex. At issue is the resort collection by the daughter of the founder of Zara.
As PÚBLICO has learned, Judge Ana Casa Branca granted the precautionary measure the following day, on February 23, 2023. This means that the urbanization license is thus temporarily suspended, with the subdivision works having to stop immediately.
Organizations such as those that make up the Platform (Associação Dunas Livres, Quercus, ZERO, LPN, Geota, SPECO, SPEA, Ocean Alive, Sciaena and Associação Íris) have contested these works, claiming that they have “very significant impacts on the systems ecological, in addition to coastal risks, pressure on water resources, soil, air, landscape”.
According to the Providência Cautelar, at stake “are 200 hectares of rare and sensitive habitats but very rich in biodiversity, with several species of protected flora, with local endemisms listed in the Habitats Directive/Natura Network 2000, on the last section of the wild coast of the country”.
Dunas Livres claims that “the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) has already verified a destruction of protected natural values, in disrespect for the Environmental Impact Declaration that delimited vegetation cores that could not be disturbed, which motivated the opening of an administrative offense proceeding against the promoting companies”.
This tourist project, which will have an investment of 200 million euros, foresees the construction of a hotel and three five-star villages, with a total of 506 beds.