Pittosporum undulatum, hedychium gardnerianum, Ulex minor Roth, arundo donax and leycesteria are some of the invasive species that the Regional Government seeks to eradicate from several environmentally sensitive areas in the Azores with the implementation of the Regional Plan for the Eradication and Control of Invasive Species in Sensitive Areas (PRECEFIAS).

The Regional Directorate for the Environment (DRA) announced that this eradication project, which will be executed until the end of December 2009, is the greatest investment ever made in the removal of invasive species in the Azores.

The DRA also made known that “the eradication of detrimental invasive species that were introduced in the Azores is central to ensure that the endogenous flora persists.”  It also underlined that the floral heritage of the Region “is universally recognized and valued and that its preservations is beneficial at several levels, namely, the fixation of slopes and cliffs and the preservation of the quality and quantity of water resources, including mineral waters with traditional medicinal uses.”

The Regional Directorate for the Environment also underlined the fact that ecological tourism, an expanding sector in the Azores, relies on the environmental integrity of these islands and is averse to the presence of invasive species in environmentally privileged areas.”

The DRA justifies the PRECEFIAS programme by saying that, in addition to its economic and ecological virtues, is “it is also a moral duty to preserve the endogenous genetic heritage for future generations.”

The DRA announced that other environmental measures are also being considered for the maritime environment such as the removal of the algae caulerpa webbiana, which can be found in Horta’s Bay.

This alga, which originated in the southern hemisphere, is not consumed by any maritime organism and is, therefore, amply dispersed in several circumscribed areas.

The DRA also said that the eradication of invasive species is a project that will be developed in the Azores in the coming years and will imply an investment of hundreds of thousand Euros. It is, DRA claims, an “enormous step” towards the preservation of the endemic flora of the Azores and its divulgation abroad.