Support sustainable living
31/12/2006
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Good news for sustainable living in Portugal
Mata de Sesimbra in Portugal is the first of five flagship 'One Planet Living' communities, one in each continent of the world, which will have sustainable ecological footprints yet maintain high standards of living.
Under the project, an area currently characterised by urban development, mass tourism and clandestine villa construction will be transformed into the world's first-ever integrated sustainable housing and tourism development, incorporating a massive €120 million nature conservation and reforestation programme.
One Planet Living is a joint initiative of WWF and BioRegional, specialists in developing sustainable strategies and products for businesses and local authorities. WWF and BioRegional are working with companies and planners to develop projects that help make sustainainable living easy, affordable and attractive, and promote sustainainable economic policies by governments.
Following a highly successful community consultation, which showed that local people were overwhelmingly in favour of the project, WWF needed to show national politicians and government officials the breadth of international support for this innovative project.
In May 2006 Passport holders were called to action and 10,000 of you signed our petition to support sustainable living. The petition was presented to the Mayor of Sesimbra, Augusto Polvora, who expressed his gratitude for your support:
“I am very pleased that so many people from so many countries have taken such an interest in this project. For the people of this municipality, this project represents the last chance to save and recover the region’s largest area of forest, and means it will be possible to transform a vast area of quarries into native woodland. This environmentally friendly project will bring many benefits to local people, such as new sustainable transport services and new jobs. The support of WWF and its partners and supporters has helped local people and institutions to appreciate just how important this project is to the sustainable development of our region, and to preserving our natural and cultural heritage.”
A final decision on the project will be made in early 2007, but WWF is now optimistic that it will get the go ahead.
Thank you to everyone who took action.
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