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| Vila de Soajo |
30 de Abril de 2008
Freedom for Soajo... No to PNPG!
Top Ten Reasons Why Soajo should Secede from the PNPG
1. Soajo was established in 950 AD. The Parque Nacional Peneda-Geres (PNPG) was created in 1971 during the Salazar-Caetano Dictatorship era. By my calculations, Soajo is 1,058 years old, while PNPG is 37 years old. So which of these two entities has greater natural legitimacy? One is a settlement of human beings, while the other is a mere governmental organization. In even simpler terms, Soajo was here first!
2. PNPG fails to keep promises. PNPG reintroduced wolves to the park, and promised to pay farmers and shepherds for animals killed by wolves. PNPG is two years behind in payments, owing as much as 500,000 euros ($780,000 dollars). Farmers and shepherds have suffered greatly as a result of PNPG insensitivities.
3. PNPG's bureaucracy is in a category all by itself. PNPG has adopted so many rules and processes that it's virtually impossible for the common person to navigate through. You need a law degree just to read their fine-print.
4. PNPG is so inefficient in managing forest and vegetation growth that forest fires in the summer of 2006 burned 3000 hectares (7,413 acres). The burning of precious pasture caused farmers to import hay from Spain at a great personal expense. In addition to impact on livestock, wildlife also suffered.
5. PNPG behaves like the dictatorship that created it in 1971. The PNPG bosses are elitists who treat the farmers of Soajo with disdain and are indifferent to their losses. They think the people of Soajo are simple peasants.
6. PNPG wants Soajo and the other 21 communities located within the park's boundaries to surrender their autonomy and self-governance to the PNPG authorities. These 22 communities range from Melgaco, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, Terras de Bouro and Montealegre. Recently, an association of the 22 communities was established to give the communities a united representation.
7. PNPG restricts all commercial activity and development within the park so that the 22 communities remain stuck in the past, which boosts tourism. PNPG wants the villages of the park to act as a living "Disney" to amuse tourists.
8. The "Disneyfication" of the PNPG villages benefits only a tiny fraction of the 10,000 people living within the park. Who benefits? In addition to the government tax collectors, the owners of cafes, restaurants and hotels also benefit from the busloads of camera-toting tourists and weekenders. In Soajo, for example, out of a population of 1,000 residents, perhaps 20 or 30 business-owners benefit from the tourism industry. The 970 farmers and retirees don't benefits at all from the litter, noise and congestion the tourists bring with them.
9. The people of villages within the PNPG are captive of the PNPG. As citizens of Portugal, they have to follow all the national laws passed by the national assembly. But unlike their fellow citizens in other regions, they have additional burdens imposed on them by the PNPG. Is this fair? At least in the national assembly people get a chance to voice their view in elections. But no such democracy exists vis-a-vis the PNPG.
10. The idea of "private property" is threatened by the PNPG. The PNPG has the authority to determine what activities take place on private property. The blood, sweat and tears our ancestors suffered to carve fields into the mountains of Peneda and Geres, is irrelevant to the PNPG elitists who sit comfortably in their offices in Braga expounding decisions on what happens on people's private land. They decide what gets built on your land.
Lastly, Soajo does not benefit from being part of the PNPG. On the contrary, the PNPG and the 10 million people of Portugal benefit from the beauty of Soajo and the other 21 communities of our region.
The government and PNPG must re-evaluate the "social contract" under which the relationship exists between Soajo and the PNPG. No contract survives when there is a one-way relationship with one party overwhelmingly dominating the relationship. In my point of view, the next generation of Soajeiros are fed up with the PNPG.
Let the resistance begin!
1. Soajo was established in 950 AD. The Parque Nacional Peneda-Geres (PNPG) was created in 1971 during the Salazar-Caetano Dictatorship era. By my calculations, Soajo is 1,058 years old, while PNPG is 37 years old. So which of these two entities has greater natural legitimacy? One is a settlement of human beings, while the other is a mere governmental organization. In even simpler terms, Soajo was here first!
2. PNPG fails to keep promises. PNPG reintroduced wolves to the park, and promised to pay farmers and shepherds for animals killed by wolves. PNPG is two years behind in payments, owing as much as 500,000 euros ($780,000 dollars). Farmers and shepherds have suffered greatly as a result of PNPG insensitivities.
3. PNPG's bureaucracy is in a category all by itself. PNPG has adopted so many rules and processes that it's virtually impossible for the common person to navigate through. You need a law degree just to read their fine-print.
4. PNPG is so inefficient in managing forest and vegetation growth that forest fires in the summer of 2006 burned 3000 hectares (7,413 acres). The burning of precious pasture caused farmers to import hay from Spain at a great personal expense. In addition to impact on livestock, wildlife also suffered.
5. PNPG behaves like the dictatorship that created it in 1971. The PNPG bosses are elitists who treat the farmers of Soajo with disdain and are indifferent to their losses. They think the people of Soajo are simple peasants.
6. PNPG wants Soajo and the other 21 communities located within the park's boundaries to surrender their autonomy and self-governance to the PNPG authorities. These 22 communities range from Melgaco, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, Terras de Bouro and Montealegre. Recently, an association of the 22 communities was established to give the communities a united representation.
7. PNPG restricts all commercial activity and development within the park so that the 22 communities remain stuck in the past, which boosts tourism. PNPG wants the villages of the park to act as a living "Disney" to amuse tourists.
8. The "Disneyfication" of the PNPG villages benefits only a tiny fraction of the 10,000 people living within the park. Who benefits? In addition to the government tax collectors, the owners of cafes, restaurants and hotels also benefit from the busloads of camera-toting tourists and weekenders. In Soajo, for example, out of a population of 1,000 residents, perhaps 20 or 30 business-owners benefit from the tourism industry. The 970 farmers and retirees don't benefits at all from the litter, noise and congestion the tourists bring with them.
9. The people of villages within the PNPG are captive of the PNPG. As citizens of Portugal, they have to follow all the national laws passed by the national assembly. But unlike their fellow citizens in other regions, they have additional burdens imposed on them by the PNPG. Is this fair? At least in the national assembly people get a chance to voice their view in elections. But no such democracy exists vis-a-vis the PNPG.
10. The idea of "private property" is threatened by the PNPG. The PNPG has the authority to determine what activities take place on private property. The blood, sweat and tears our ancestors suffered to carve fields into the mountains of Peneda and Geres, is irrelevant to the PNPG elitists who sit comfortably in their offices in Braga expounding decisions on what happens on people's private land. They decide what gets built on your land.
Lastly, Soajo does not benefit from being part of the PNPG. On the contrary, the PNPG and the 10 million people of Portugal benefit from the beauty of Soajo and the other 21 communities of our region.
The government and PNPG must re-evaluate the "social contract" under which the relationship exists between Soajo and the PNPG. No contract survives when there is a one-way relationship with one party overwhelmingly dominating the relationship. In my point of view, the next generation of Soajeiros are fed up with the PNPG.
Let the resistance begin!
29 de Abril de 2008
Pictures of Soajo
Horses grazing in the Mountains of Soajo
School
Main Entrance to Soajo's Center
Soajo's Center (Eiro)
Pelourinho de Soajo
Espigueiros de Soajo
PNPG bureaucrats can't be trusted
Ironically, on April 25, 2008, an interesting article appeared in the national newspaper, Diario de Noticias, in which shepherds within Portugal's only national park, Parque Nacional Peneda Geres (PNPG) threatened to quit herding sheep and goats unless the government compensates them for their livestock lost to wolves that roam the park. The wolves are a "protected" species. It is a crime to kill or harm a wolf. The government promised to compensate shepherds and farmers for livestock killed by wolves. These promises have not been kept.
Why is this ironic? April 25, 2008, marked the 34th anniversary of the "carnation revolution" of 1974 that ended decades of dictatorship in Portugal. Now that Portugal is a maturing western democracy, one would think that its government would have more respect for its citizens. Regrettably, the opposite is becoming the norm. As the article (see below) in the Diario de Noticias points out, the government and the PNPG are two years behind in compensating shepherds for their losses.
Created in 1971, PNPG consists of an area of 702.90 km². Of this, 52.75 km² is public property, 194.38 km² are private property, and the remaining 455.77 km² are common lands. Approximately 10,000 people live within the park's boundaries.
According to the PNPG director, Henrique Pereira, the government currently owes 250,000 euros ($390,000 USD) to shepherds and farmers within the park, and approximately 500,000 euros ($780K) throughout northern Portugal.
It's bad enough that the PNPG bureaucrats control many aspects of life within the park, such as what can and cannot be built on private property. But when the livelihood of shepherds is jeopardized by bureaucracy and inaction, the government is simply behaving no better than the dictatorship. The government imposes wolves on the people and expects the people to behave like sheep.
Here is the contact information for PNPG's director, Dr. Henrique Miguel Pereira. Email messages can be sent to Dr. Pereira at pereirahm@icn.pt.
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês
Instituto da Conservação da Natureza
Av. Antonio Macedo
4704-538 Braga, Portugal
Tel:+351 253 203 480
http://www.icn.pt
Pastores do Gerês ameaçam largar a terra
Why is this ironic? April 25, 2008, marked the 34th anniversary of the "carnation revolution" of 1974 that ended decades of dictatorship in Portugal. Now that Portugal is a maturing western democracy, one would think that its government would have more respect for its citizens. Regrettably, the opposite is becoming the norm. As the article (see below) in the Diario de Noticias points out, the government and the PNPG are two years behind in compensating shepherds for their losses.
Created in 1971, PNPG consists of an area of 702.90 km². Of this, 52.75 km² is public property, 194.38 km² are private property, and the remaining 455.77 km² are common lands. Approximately 10,000 people live within the park's boundaries.
According to the PNPG director, Henrique Pereira, the government currently owes 250,000 euros ($390,000 USD) to shepherds and farmers within the park, and approximately 500,000 euros ($780K) throughout northern Portugal.
It's bad enough that the PNPG bureaucrats control many aspects of life within the park, such as what can and cannot be built on private property. But when the livelihood of shepherds is jeopardized by bureaucracy and inaction, the government is simply behaving no better than the dictatorship. The government imposes wolves on the people and expects the people to behave like sheep.
Here is the contact information for PNPG's director, Dr. Henrique Miguel Pereira. Email messages can be sent to Dr. Pereira at pereirahm@icn.pt.
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês
Instituto da Conservação da Natureza
Av. Antonio Macedo
4704-538 Braga, Portugal
Tel:
http://www.icn.pt
Pastores do Gerês ameaçam largar a terra
Diário de Notícias - Lisboa - 25 Abr 2008
Era um dos mais novos pastores do Soajo eo único apenas de cabras, mas há um mês decidiu colocar de lado a actividade, por causa dos ataques dos lobos aos ...
Era um dos mais novos pastores do Soajo eo único apenas de cabras, mas há um mês decidiu colocar de lado a actividade, por causa dos ataques dos lobos aos ...
Desafio
Our friend Manuel Leiras participated in a "desafio" on April 13th in the Praia Fluvial de Quinchães in Fafe. Manuel has been singing the desafio for decades and is well-known in our region as a top "cantore" (singer) of the desafio. For those who don't know what the desafio is, it's best described as the Portuguese version of "rap", although without the profanity and the noise. It involves verbal combat between two singers who take turns challenging one another in rhythmic form. The desafio involves witty insults, clever use of rhymes, and lots of humor. Desafios can also occur between men and women, adding a whole new dimension to the action.
6º Encontro de Cantares ao Desafio
Rádio Clube de Fafe -3 Abr 2008
... Camila Moreira (Penafiel), Cunha (Vila Verde), Delfim de Arcos (Valdevez), Manuel Leiras (Soajo), Irene (Gaia), Sara (Gaia), Jorge Loureiro (Barcelos), ...
6º Encontro de Cantares ao Desafio
Rádio Clube de Fafe -
... Camila Moreira (Penafiel), Cunha (Vila Verde), Delfim de Arcos (Valdevez), Manuel Leiras (Soajo), Irene (Gaia), Sara (Gaia), Jorge Loureiro (Barcelos), ...
28 de Abril de 2008
Soajo Shepherd Quits
A Soajo shepherd of 17 years is quitting after losing numerous goats to wolves that are protected by the PNPG national park. This "pastor" has lost dozens of goats and has been waiting for two years to receive compensation from the national park service. This is yet another example of the leftist government's hypocrisy, inertia and inefficiencies.
Soajo: Pastor há 17 anos "despediu-se" das suas 320 cabras cansado ...RTP - Lisboa,Portugal
Viana do Castelo, 25 Abr (Lusa) - Venâncio passou 17 anos a subir a serra do Soajo à procura de pasto para as suas 320 cabras, mas agora arrumou o cajado, ...
Soajo: Pastores acusam PNPG de não pagar há dois anos prejuízos provocados pelos lobos
Viana do Castelo, 25 Abr (Lusa) - O Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês (PNPG) não paga há dois anos as indemnizações pelos animais mortos pelos lobos, para desespero dos pastores e criadores de gado do Soajo, que se vêem forçados a abandonar a actividade,
Manuel Barreira Costa disse ainda que esta situação é "verdadeiramente insustentável", tendo em consideração que "os ataques dos lobos são cada vez mais frequentes e mais próximos dos habitações".
"Assim, não há quem resista", acrescentou.
O autarca sustentou que agora começaram a aparecer lobos com chips de identificação, "o que parece indiciar que estão a pôr mais animais no PNPG, como que se os que já existiam não dessem problemas que chegassem".
"O resultado disto é que os pastores desanimam e abandonam a actividade. Ainda estes dias, um pastor que tinha mais de 300 cabras decidiu vender os animais e arrumar o cajado", afirmou.
Contactado pela Lusa, o director do PNPG, Henrique Pereira, confirmou que as indemnizações não são pagas desde meados de 2006 e que esta é uma situação de "incumprimento", justificada pela "falta de dinheiro".
Segundo Henrique Pereira, a dívida para os proprietários de gado do PNPG ascenderá, neste momento, a 250 mil euros, mas, no cômputo de toda a região norte, a verba chega ao meio milhão de euros.
"Não temos dinheiro e é só por isso que não pagamos a tempo e horas", acrescentou.
Em relação aos lobos com chip, explicou que isso tem a ver com um estudo de monitorização dos impactes dos parques eólicos sobre as alcateias.
"A acusação de que estamos a introduzir mais lobos no parque não tem qualquer fundamento", garantiu.
Segundo Henrique Pereira, neste momento haverá em todo o PNPG uma dezena de alcateias, com três a quatro lobos cada.
Os lobos são uma espécie protegida, pelo que não podem ser abatidos, nem mesmo quando estão a atacar rebanhos.
"São uma espécie protegida, mas quem os está a alimentar são os proprietários de gado, que volta e meia vêem os seus rebanhos dizimados. E a estes ninguém os protege", critica o autarca do Soajo.
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