Nowadays, one cannot talk about sustainable development without mentioning the environment and economic development, two areas that complement each other, mentioned the Regional Secretary for the Environment and the Sea, Álamo Meneses.
The Azores are a small territory with only 2300 square kilometres, divided into nine islands which are widely scattered across the Atlantic. This dispersion is the result of an Exclusive Economic Zone with an area of approximately 964 thousand square kilometres.
The Regional for the Environment and the Sea spoke on behalf of the President of the Government at the opening session of the 6th Conference of the Portuguese Association of Agrarian Economy and at the 4th Conference on Nature Management, which are taking place in Ponta Delgada.
In this context, environmental sustainability issues are fundamental. The archipelago is small and its population density is low; therefore, the Azores area an extremely fragile Region in terms of economic development associated to environmental issues.
On the other hand, the Regional Secretary stressed that the Azorean economy is based on three fundamental pillars: animal husbandry, fisheries and tourism. This last sector privileges a close contact with the environment, pedestrian walks, observation the landscape and biodiversity.
The sustainable economic development of the Azores is profoundly dependent on nature conservation; therefore, the environmental and economic policies, particularly the agrarian economy policies which are focused on the sustainability of animal husbandry, are essential for Azorean policy, considered Álamo Meneses.
The Regional Secretary for the Environment and the Sea expects that during the conferences the environment and economy be analysed and understood as a joint force to support the development of the Azores and not otherwise.