Associação Monchique Alerta – Serra livre de incêndios

Association Monchique Alerta – the Mountains Free From Fire

With water, the fire goes out.

Eight days after the first flames, the great fire of 2018 was put out in Monchique thanks to water from nearby dams. Firefighters and aerial resources were on hand to fight the fire. Few inhabitants were prepared for this type of combative task.

Several factors led to the combustion of 28,000 hectares of land, forest and 71 dwellings. A year after the fires, in-depth analysis following a long investigation yielded its fruit: a key reason for this fire was the lack of cisterns and water deposits in the region. Inhabitants who had kept their land clear and built rainwater cisterns proved that it was possible to protect their homes. With water, the fire goes out!

The crowdfunding project Monchique with a Future will help citizens to help themselves. The Monchique Alert – Mountains Free From Fire Association was founded by inhabitants affected by the fire. They intend to support four of the victims of this tragedy in constructing cisterns so that, in the future, they can better protect their forest, their farms and their home.

Each of these tanks will have a storage capacity of around 50,000 liters of water. They will be set up at the highest point of their land, so that water will be transported by gravity. Nuno Carvalho, William Abrantes, Ana Nunes and Carlos Abafa and Jelly Boomsma have all applied to the project and will be supported by through crowdfunding. 

This is the beginning of a local solidarity movement in a region that will no doubt feel the impact of climate change. In the future, Monchique will have lower levels of rainfall at less regular intervals, as well as waves of extreme drought. Drought will shape the way of life in the south. The answer to this problem lies in water storage; water, an elixir of life for plants, animals, and human beings…

About the organiser:

The Monchique Alert – Mountains Free From Fire Association was founded on March 28th, 2019, in view of the need to put together legal representation for parties affected by August 2018’s forest fires.

This association aims to bring together everyone who has been affected by the fires in the Serra de Monchique region, either directly or indirectly. It seeks to facilitate and carry out a survey of the personal property destroyed, as well as documenting the cultural, forestry and community heritage affected (anything that represents an individual or collective loss), with a view to obtaining compensation for damages. Other objectives of the association include representing the affected parties with a view to obtaining compensation for damages sustained, individually or collectively, by all legal means possible (including prosecution) and acting to ensure that monitoring methods are in place, with the law being observed to prevent future disasters.

Key values of the organization are the protection of the environment, land management – particularly in the areas affected by the fires – and the promotion of education, information and awareness among citizens who wish to be vigilant, alert and focused on the sustainability of the Serra de Monchique.

Tel. 926 600 099
E-mail: info@monchique-alerta.org
Website: http://www.monchique-alerta.org