The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and the Environment stated in Praia da Vitória that, "being aware that we only protect what we know, the Regional Government has invested in policies directed to environmental education and sustainable development."
 
According to Luís Neto Viveiros, this commitment has been fulfilled through "ecotecas" (environmental awareness raising centres) and several programmes, such as the Island Park or the School Park, involving thousands of students. The government official also mentioned the network of Environmental Centres of the Azores, included in Natural Parks.
 
This network, already with 16 infrastructures across the Region, will be extended this year with the opening of the House of Fossils on Santa Maria and the Pineapple House on S. Miguel, said the Regional Secretary.
 
Neto Viveiros spoke at the opening of the Interpretation Centre of the Coastal Wet Green Infrastructure in Praia da Vitória, where he presided over the ceremony presided on behalf of the President of the Government. In this context, the government official praised the creation of this infrastructure by the local municipality, reinforcing the number of available infrastructures.
 
According to the Secretary for the Environment, the new centre has "the mission to promote the knowledge" on that area and highlight the "importance of its preservation" among locals and visitors, with ecological and socio-economic gains.
 
"Together with the results already achieved from an ecological standpoint, that is, with the improvement of conditions that provide refuge for migratory birds, this centre will help to promote ornithological tourism, thus becoming another hub for the socio-economic development of this municipality," said the government official.
 
In his speech, he recalled that "the Region now has 13 sites included in the Ramsar Convention list "since 2012, following the approval of the application of Praia da Vitória Marsh to the classification of protected wetland of international interest on the initiative of the Praia da Vitória City Hall and formal proposal of the Azorean Government."
 
One of them, the latest, is the Praia da Vitória Marsh, "where the LIFE + Project for Ecological Restoration of the Wet Green Infrastructure of Praia da Vitória is being carried out under municipal management. The area also includes Belo Jardim Marsh and Pedreira do Cabo da Praia Marsh."
 
This marsh was filled in the early 20th century with saltwater brought by each tide through porous sand, despite being filled with freshwater from rainfall and groundwater from higher lands. The Praia da Vitória Marsh is the nesting place of the Common Moorhen (Galinulla chloropus) and its location allows the observation of numerous bird species.
 
The 13 sites in the Azores classified under the Ramsar Convention are the following: crater lakes of Fajã dos Cubres and Fajã do Santo Cristo (S. Jorge island); Caldeira da Graciosa (Furna do Enxofre - Graciosa island); Caldeira do Faial (Faial island); Caldeirão do Corvo (Corvo island); volcanic complexes of Furnas, Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo (São Miguel island); Formigas islet and Dollabarat Reef (Santa Maria island); Planalto Central da Terceira (Furnas do Enxofre and Algar do Carvão) and Praia da Vitória Marsh (Terceira island); Planalto Central das Flores (Morro Alto - Flores island); Planalto Central de São Jorge (Pico da Esperança) and Planalto Central do Pico (Achada).
 
The Convention on Wetlands was held in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971 with the aim of promoting international cooperation and fostering national actions towards the rational and sustainable management of these sites. "As their designation implies, they are extremely important in the preservation and retention of water resources as well as in prevention of floods and landslides," stressed Neto Viveiros.