Inferno in Almargem’s sights

At a time when the 39th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention is being celebrated, Loulé’s Almargem Association has chosen the famous “Pego do Inferno” as an “example of one of the Algarve’s wetland areas with problems that have gone on for years, with no solution in sight”.

Situated in the parish of Santo Estevão, about seven kilometres from the town on the Gilão river, this “beauty spot” is visited annually by thousands of people, attracted by the waterfall and lake that exist there. But, according to Almargem, these hordes are “an example of unsustainable interference in a fragile ecosystem”.

Put another way; around 10 years ago, access steps were constructed on site to help people enjoy the “Pego”. Expensive and difficult to maintain, the steps simply pave the way for increased human pressure on the area – and during the summer, it’s perfectly normal to see hundreds of cars parked in the surroundings, without any respect for Nature.

The refuse piling up from this lack of civic responsibility, and indeed the lack of adequate infrastructures, is plain for all to see. There are those who enjoy picnics – which in reality are more like “pollution-fests” – and others who camp “illegally”. The risk of fire is constant.

But the greatest problem is that “Pego do Inferno” is wedged between two private properties with restricted access.

“One of these properties, in which “Moinhos da Rocha” stand – stunning examples of national heritage on the brink of complete dereliction – is actually for sale, with a plan for a new urbanisation”.

To make matters worse, the local authority “is preparing to spend tens of thousands of euros in tarmacing the access road to Pego do Inferno”, thus contributing to the attack on already threatened natural habitats.

In this context, Almargem has proposed to Tavira Town Council and the Algarve Regional Water Board that the final section of the Asseca river – including “Pego do Inferno” – be subject to a high-priority “project of intervention”.

The idea is to recover habitats, clean the river and its borders, protect plant and wildlife and promote the existing geo- and biological diversity of the area.

More ambitious is the public life-interest plan for “Moinhos da Rocha” – with its transformation into a centre for territorial interpretation, as well as the implementation of a new more balanced way of using “Pego do Inferno” as a leisure space.

Very soon, Almargem – in partnership with other official entities in the region – will be promoting these, and other actions directed at the public in general (on a voluntary basis), on the «International Day for Biological Diversity» on 22nd May.