We rely on science to develop our policies

Having approved, on September 20, 2022, at the meeting of the Chamber, the proposal to celebrate the Protocol of Cooperation between the Municipality of Cascais and the Portuguese Institute of the Law of the Sea (IPDM) with the aim of supporting, promoting and encouraging knowledge of the law of the sea in Portugal within the scope of Lusofonia, the Municipality of Cascais will host next June the 2nd Annual IPDM Congress , in partnership with KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology), a Portuguese language training procedure. – The panel of speakers, which will take place over two weeks, with the UN Department of Law of the Sea and the first IPDM Summer School, dedicated to the training of students of different nationalities.

The aforementioned events will bring together current and future world experts in the law of the sea in Cascais, to discuss the main challenges we face with pollution, climate change, sea level rise, maritime safety and human rights protection, allowing the creation of knowledge networks that will enhance the essential role of Cascais as a global hub For knowledge in the field of ocean.

Portugal, which is bigger at sea than on land, should lead the way. Municipalities must lead this way.

An environmentally sustainable policy is increasingly present in the municipality leading the implementation of environmental policies related to the sea, including knowledge, management, development of awareness programs and training.

We adopted the Cascais Declaration in Charge of the Coastal Community, which was the basis for the creation of the Municipal Council of the Cascais Sea, which aims to bring together the various entities, public and private, with the aim of developing a harmonized approach to the ocean.

We have developed important efforts in the field of the ocean, which include, among others: – Restoration of seagrass forests off the coast of Guia, between the village of Cascais and Jincho, thus promoting the development of marine flora and fauna that will make it possible to capture carbon dioxide and restore marine life on the coast Portuguese; – Literacy and awareness-raising projects, such as the Cascais underwater archaeological map project, which seeks to raise awareness of the importance of the historical heritage of our sea.

Our aim is to study, conserve and enhance the natural heritage and marine biodiversity, a prime example of which is the Marine Protected Area of ​​Avencas, which was the first marine protected area under municipal administration in Portugal.

We developed the Cascais Sea Strategy in order to enhance the natural capital of our sea by characterizing and strengthening its economic activity, promoting sustainable development, developing education and scientific knowledge not only in the ocean area but also stimulating the cultural connection between them.

This is the future. Instead of spending billions on space, we should invest collectively in knowing the seas.

Cascais, for example, is a hundred times larger at sea than on land. If we could increase the wealth generated in the Atlantic by just 1%, we would double the GDP we are creating on Earth today. And to do this in areas of great community access: I talk about new discoveries in marine biology and geology and new resources in food, medicine and cosmetics.

This path is only viable if we embrace responsible ocean exploration.

A benign, symbiotic interaction, backed by science, which recognizes the laws of life and nature, and obeys compliance mechanisms under the auspices of the United Nations, keeping us away from the predatory practices blamed for the ecological disaster we know today in our forests and seas.

We rely on science to develop our policies. We have studies on the state of ecosystems, climate change impact scenarios, sea GDP and on sea natural capital.

Returning to the sea is also a necessity for peace and humanity.

Because it is the sea that unites what separates everything. Because we meet at sea as a global community.

For at sea we find ourselves in our common humanity as brother peoples from different shores of our oceans.

Cascais reaffirms its strong commitment to responsibility in an exceptional resource that is our maritime area, certainly launching in the future a value chain that will certainly generate wealth and encourage the creation of many qualified jobs and the existence of future generations will be based on a future where there is hope.