Desertification threatens the Algarve - Observatório do Algarve

These are some of the conclusions from an international seminar held as part of the SIDS Algarve project (System of Indicators of Sustainable Development), under the programme of the Portuguese presidency of the European Union.

The area with the most obvious problems of desertification is the Serra do Baixo Guadiana, in the northeastern Algarve, bordered to the north by the Ribeira do Vascão and to the east by the Guadiana, and it includes all the parishes of the municipality of Alcoutim and the parishes of Odeleite and Azinhal, in the municipality of Castro Marim.

The main signs of desertification are erosion, impoverishment of the soil, the loss of biodiversity, break up of the family structure, depopulation, ageing of the population, a reduction in precipitation, lack of water in the soil and the abandonment of the land and traditional agriculture.

To solve the problem of desertification in this part of the Algarve, the study suggests some possibilities such as the introduction of soil rotation and leaving land to lie fallow, the reduction in the use of chemicals, the recovery of local flora in nurseries and the planting of trees using species that are suited to the region.

The study also adds that, to fight desertification and the erosion of the land, the capacity for the infiltration of water into the soil should be increased, hedges should be used, scrubland should be correctly managed and used and crops and their rotation should be made appropriate for the type of soil.