Petition to stop the money from the Lei de Meios being used to destroy the Bay of Funchal

Your Excellency, the President of the Portuguese Parliament

Following the catastrophic deluge of the 20^th of February 2010, the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira created a temporary landfill to the South of the Avenida do Mar, to deposit the debris carried by the three streams which flow into Funchal bay. This temporary landfill remained throughout the whole summer and was increased with further deposits from the rains of the 21^st of October, the 25^th of November, the 20^th of December 2010 and the 20^th of January 2011. What was meant to be a temporary solution turned into a permanent landfill. On the 15^th of February 201, the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira announced its intention to resort to the funding provided by the Lei de Meios to build a pier for cruise ships and a marina on the site of the landfill, with an estimated to cost 40 million Euros.

Considering that this is a new work and not a reconstruction of damaged infrastructures;

Considering that the intervention proposed by the Regional Government of Madeira will irreversibly destroy the beach adjacent to the Avenida do Mar.

Considering that, in the event of flooding, the project may further obstruct the flow of the Santa Luzia and João Gomes streams;

Considering that the operation of a pier in open sea will be greatly conditioned in the months of October and November, which are the preferred months for visiting cruise ships;

Considering that the proposed intervention will alter the character of the bay of Funchal, putting its quality as a tourist destination in jeopardy and limiting its use by the local residents;

Considering that the funds made available through the Lei de Meios are to be used prioritarily for urban requalification and to safeguard the population;

The undersigned citizens reject the possibility that the Regional Government of Madeira spend the funding from the Lei de Meios to build new port infrastructures and request that the Portuguese Parliament reanalyze the above-mentioned law to ensure that national solidarity funding be used only to reconstruct those infrastructures damaged by the floods of the 20^th of February 2010.

To sign the petition, please go to:

http://www.vivamadeira.com/peticoes/component/content/article/39-activas/165-leidemeios.html