About 50 people took part in a public briefing on the Porto Santo coastal protection project, held last Thursday at the island's Community Centre. The room was full and the session lasted almost two hours, with an extended question-and-answer period.
The regional director for Environment and Sea, Manuel Ara Oliveira, and the project manager for the LIFE DUNAS and Praia Sustentável projects, Nuno Marques, attended, alongside representatives of the Porto Santo municipality, the local public administration office, the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and the harbour authority.
Topics included coastal dynamics, the beach's historical evolution, shoreline monitoring, sand quality and ecological studies on land and at sea. Authorities say only sand from Porto Santo is used in the works.