Tony Butt – PhD in Physical Oceanography and Patagonia´s surf ambassador – visited Portugal in order to explore this subject. From his visit resulted a warning video – Stop the Dams in Portugal – that conveys a strong, clear and conscious message on the perils of excessive dam building and warns of its negative environmental impact.  According to Tony Butt “Politicians are talking about investing hundreds of millions of Euros to build more coastal defenses, so on the one hand they are spending hundreds of millions to protecting the coast. On the other hand they are also spending hundreds of millions of Euros building these dams which are a large cause of the coastal erosion in the first place. To me that doesn’t make sense“.

Full Article here: http://www.thecleanestline.com/2016/04/stop-the-dams-in-portugal.html 

Patagonia® is also supporting the actions taken by Save Tua Platform and Esporão® (Portuguese wine & olive oil producer) to stop the dam in the Tua river and is also engaged in spreading the word for people to take action, by visiting the website – http://lastdaysoftua.com – and sending an automatic e-mail/letter to UNESCO.

Despite of the advanced state of construction it is still possible to avoid the filling of the reservoir allowing important actions to be taken for the preservation of the region, before it is too late.

The issue is not only a matter of environmental protection of UNESCO World Heritage patrimony. It is also about the economic, social and cultural preservation of “Alto Douro Vinhateiro”, the oldest demarcated region in the world, with unique features that is being threatened by a project that does not bring any advantage for the territory or its inhabitants.

The Platform Save the Tua was founded the 31^st  May 2013. Its mission is to protect the Tua Valley, a region where flows one of the most beautiful rivers in Portugal, which is shaped by a rare landscape. The Platform Save the Tua is committed in raising public awareness and policy makers awareness about the incompatibility of the Foz Tua dam with the values abided by Unesco World Heritage nomination of the Alto Douro Wine Region. To succeed in this mission, the Plataforma is leading several initiatives, namely legal actions and activities promoting the public opinion conscientiousness to stop the construction of the Foz Tua dam.

“The Last Days of Tua” campaign, has had the collaboration of film director Jorge Pelicano when producing four documentaries regarding the consequences the dam can cause in the region, through different perspectives and realities. On the four documentaries, Pedro Duarte, Manuel Queiroga, Ricardo Inverno and Aníbal Gonçalves bring attention to the Last Days of Tua through their testimony, pointing out the direct impact that filling the dam will have on their lives and on the region they live in and protect.

These real-life stories intend to raise the national and international public´s awareness to the patrimony that will be severely and irreversibly damaged if the conclusion of the dam is complete. All it takes is visiting the campaign´s website – www.lastdaysoftua.com – and send an automatic e-mail/letter to UNESCO. The letter will ask for the intervention of UNESCO in order for them to fulfill their mission of protecting the patrimony listed as world heritage, by visiting the region, meeting with all the parties affected by the dam and last but not least, a demand to include Alto Douro Vinhateiro in the list of World Heritage in Danger.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/yzWtNFZsX2c

The Last Days of Tua: The Last Crop / A Última Colheita (Manuel Queiroga) https://youtu.be/0O43MCeXJAU

The Last Days of Tua: The Last Down-River/A última descida do rio (Ricardo Inverno) https://youtu.be/myl3KW7DCRM

The Last Days of Tua: The Last Walk /A Última Caminhada (Aníbal Gonçalves) https://youtu.be/X0R-LM_nSQU

The Last Days of Tua: The Last Harvest/ A Última Vindima (Pedro Duarte) https://youtu.be/lqFZMM3yj0A

 

Campaign produced by: Esporão e Plataforma Salvar o Tua / Agencies: “O Escritório” e “Comon” / Director: Jorge Pelicano / Production company: “Até ao Fim do Mundo”

 

More info on #savetua:

www.lastdaysoftua.com

www.salvarotua.org

 

More info on Tony Butt:

http://www.patagonia.com/us/ambassadors/surfing/dr-tony-butt/110426

http://www.surfscience.org

 

Cover photo by Duarte Belo