The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and the Environment, through the Regional Directorate for the Environment, will renew the application to the award of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in the Lands of "Priolo" (CETS) in the municipalities of Nordeste and Povoação, S. Miguel.
 
This renewal process, which started in May and will be completed by the end of this year, promotes the participation of the population and multiple entities from both municipalities as well as all project partners.
 
In the context of the celebrations of the National Nature Conservation Day, the Government will promote an awareness raising action for the importance of environmental issues, namely the need to need to preserve nature and ensure the sustainability of biological resources.
 
This initiative is open to the public in general and takes Thursday, July 28, at 11 AM at "Priolo" Environmental Centre, located in Cancela do Cinzeiro Forest Park in Nordeste, where the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) will also open a new permanent exhibition.
 
The application of the Lands of "Priolo" to the award of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (ECST), submitted by the Regional Government, was approved in October 2012. This classification acknowledges the development of sustainable tourism and the conservation of their unique natural values, promoted under the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest project and the Land Management Plan of Furnas Crater Lake Hydrographic Basin.
 
This tool was created, assessed and certified by the EUROPARC Federation. It is primarily intended to defend a tourism practice that reconciles environmental and social aspects with economic developed in protected areas.
 
The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in the Lands of Priolo established partnerships with Regional Directorates for the Environment, Forest Resources and Tourism, Nordeste Town Hall, SPEA, ASDEPR - ASDEPR - Association for Rural Development and Promotion, OMIC - Azores Microbial Observatory and Azores Geopark.
 
For further information and input on the participation in this process, those who are interested may consult the address http://www.azores.gov.pt/GRA/srrn-cets.