In accordance with the ICNF, the goal is the preservation of the natural and scenic values of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

In a statement, the ICNF announced that untreated effluent discharges that went untreated at the Park, located in Penhas Douradas, in Serra da Estrela, were detected on 26 August and on 22 November, confirming the occurrence as continuous.

The company managing the equipment was notified on 24 November that “it should close the activity of its respective infrastructures”, ICNF added, two days later in a joint action by the Nature Watch Team and the GNR of Montanha, found that the equipment remained operational.

In addition to the Park, the suspension extends to the bar and restaurant, also located in Penhas Douradas, in the Guards district.

Due to the non-compliance of the restrictions, the ICNF “requested a judicial intervention from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in order to act in response to the registered violations” and “the necessity of the compliance of the administrative order”.

“This occurrence (effluent discharges), jeopardises the natural and landscape values of the region, which are ecologically sensitive, it is imperative that the continuation of the violations should be avoided, due to the situation becoming irreversible and the greater difficulty or impossibility of replacement of the values”