The Amarante City Council will be able to intervene immediately in its forest park, a natural heritage managed by the state for 100 years that includes an area for enjoyment, visitation, and contact with the Tâmega River, the municipality announced on Tuesday.
The collaboration protocol between the Municipality of Amarante, in the Porto district, and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) was signed this Tuesday, “following several meetings and without prejudice to the ongoing legal action,” the Amarante City Council said in a statement.
This protocol allows “immediately” to intervene and invest in the Amarante Forest Park, a step described by the council president, Jorge Ricardo, as “very important for the leisure of Amarante residents.”
“The Amarante Forest Park plays a fundamental role in the life of our population, being a space for enjoyment and visitation, for contact with the Tâmega River, which guarantees access to social use,” the mayor said, cited in the statement sent to the Lusa agency.
As a result of this protocol, the municipality aims to create a Multifunctional Forest Park, which will include a playground, a picnic area, and parking for passenger cars and coaches.
To carry out the actions foreseen in the signed protocol, the ICNF allocated to the Municipality a grant of 150,000 euros.
In the Amarante Forest Park area operate services of the ICNF Regional Directorate, as well as the National Center for Forest Seeds.
“It is of utmost importance to support the execution of projects that aim for multi-thematic purposes related to the forest, nature conservation and landscape enhancement, as well as the defense of natural heritage,” the mayor added.
Regarding identified needs, priority is given to the rehabilitation, valorization and maintenance of public visitation areas, the demolition of structures formerly used as a poultry house, as well as the dismantling, felling, and pruning of trees.
“The public visitation areas will host a multifunctional green space, where activities may take place, with the creation of wide clearings for social use, combining shaded areas and contact with nature, where biodiversity will be promoted through the integration of native vegetation, which visitors of the Amarante Forest Park will also be able to traverse, and an area to assist with parking for vehicles will also be created,” added Jorge Ricardo.
The Amarante City Council emphasizes that this protocol is independent of the court action aimed at returning Quinta de Codeçais, a space that has been part of the Amarante Forest Park since May 24, 1922.
“The good news is that, regardless of the decision that will be issued, we can start already to work on the new life for Amarante’s green lung,” summarized the president of the City Council.
In 1922, by a public deed signed by António Pinheiro de Magalhães, then President of the Executive Committee of the City Council, Quinta de Codeçais was handed over to the Portuguese State to develop the Amarante Forest Park there, subject to the total forestry regime.
In April, the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Penafiel ordered the ICNF to return to the Amarante City Council the forest park of the city, which has been state-managed for over 100 years, but the case is still proceeding through the courts.
This court decision stemmed from a suit filed in September 2017 aimed at reversing the possession of the property to the Municipality.
In the action, the City Council alleged non-compliance with the conditions set out in the deed of transfer to the State, namely neglect and the lack of dynamism in the space by the managing entity.
In response to the 2017 suit filed by the municipality, the ICNF argued that the forest services designed the Amarante Forest Park and carry out its maintenance.
The State also contended that the said Forest Park is being managed professionally.
