Gypsies on the road to integration

Deep-rooted discrimination and disaffection persist between the Gypsies and the wider public in Portugal, but there are signs that the ethnic divide is crumbling. Leading voices on both sides are calling for an end to the negative stereotyping of the Gypsies, and for the Gypsies themselves to interact more positively with mainstream society. Integration seems to be replacing countless years of intolerance and intransigence, but it is a painfully slow process.

The Roma, as they are more formally referred to internationally, maintain their own distinct cultural identity. They continue to live in close family groups, some still nomadic, others more or less settled in encampments or council housing scattered all across Portugal.

 Widely disliked within the mainstream population, the Roma are perceived as dishonest. Misinformation and myths abound. Lack of communication not only clouds proper understanding, but stokes animosities and fears on both sides. It is a vicious circle.

Two very different projects give some idea of what is currently being done to help make a breakthrough. Short, medium and long-term measures are contained in a ‘national strategy for integration’ adopted by the Portuguese government last year.

Complementing this at a very personal level, the Peta Birch Community Association in the Algarve is bringing specialist health care, medicine, food, clothing and essential supplies  to the children of Gypsy families in the Albufeira area. They are doing this with the help of other organisations, such as ACCA (Associação de Solidariedade com as Crianças Carenciadas do Algarve).

Racist stereotyping has gone hand-in-hand with bigotry and persecution ever since the Roma arrived in Europe from India via North Africa six centuries ago. In Nazi Germany, the Gypsies like the Jews were subjected to concentration camps and mass murder.

Without a homeland of their own, millions of Gypsies speaking different languages live in diverse communities all over Europe as well as in the Middle East and the Americas.

The Roma population in Portugal is estimated to be between 40,000 and 60,000, with concentrations in Lisbon, Setúbal, the Alentejo and the Algarve. The largest communities in the Algarve seem to be in the Portimão, Loulé and Faro municipalities. Virtually all Gypsies in this country have Portuguese nationality.

A report last year by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said the difficulties faced by the Roma in Portugal were mainly in the fields of employment, housing, health and education.

The ECRI said that while there were still serious human rights issues, “important indicatives have been taken to improve the situation.”

Top of the list is the national strategy, which the ECRI was pleased to note, “is based on the principle that integration is a two-way process and that it involves the participation of local authorities, civil society and Roma people in all stages of design, monitoring and evaluation.”

The High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (ACIDI), a Portuguese state institute, is behind an on-going programme aimed at improving Roma access to services and equal opportunities by introducing socio-cultural mediators to town halls.

Lagoa Councillor Anabela Simão Rocha is among those highly sensitive and sympathetic to the Roma. Far from being transitory, a Gypsy community has existed in the Lagoa area for more than five decades, she says. A number of families have been living in an integrated council housing bairro in the village of Porches within the municipality for several years.

On whether the fears and mistrust of the public are justified, she commented: “There are good and bad among all groups of people. Our experience is that Gypsies are mostly law-abiding people who deserve our respect.”

This view is shared by Samantha Birch of the Peta Birch Community Association whose Roma Family Welfare programme brings her into day-to-day contact with deprived Gypies.

In response to whether Gypsies are proportionally responsible for more crimes of theft or drug dealing than other groups, a Polícia Judiciáia spokesperson said: “Our statistical records do not take into consideration race, religion or nationality.”

João da Cruz Reis, an astute, 42-year-old Gypsy pastor living in Porches whose evangelical work means he travels to Lisbon, Madeira, the Azores and Spain, told us of how attitudes and social behaviour vary from community to community.

Some Roma are more hidebound by tradition and less willing to co-operate with officialdom and the wider public than others. Attitudes are changing, but very slowly, he said.

 Some families live on incomes from trading, some get by on state benefits, but the poverty suffered by others can give rise to hostile behaviour, exacerbate family difficulties and cause further inter-community friction.

“The Algarve is a region of socio-economic contrasts and asymmetries and this is also true for Roma communities living in this region,” says AISI High Commissioner Rosário Farmhouse.

Gypsies living in encampments devoid of basic sanitation, such the one near the Albufeira marina, say they would  welcome the opportunity to move into council housing – but none is yet available to them.

“The true traditional way of life for us is finished. It is not like it used to be,” says José da Silva Reis, the head of the Albufeira marina community.  “We have to live together with other people now. We are not discriminatory. For us it is more important to have a proper house, to have our kids in school learning to read and write so they have opportunities and jobs when they are older.

“Our family is more important now than continuing to live in this way,” he told us looking around his rough hillside settlement of shacks. “If we had to give up our free way of life with our animals for a house and a better standard of living, we would.”

Poor education and inadequate job training, plus a lack of trust on the part of employers, contribute to high levels of unemployment among Gypsies throughout Portugal. Only about one in 10 aged between 20 and 64 is in regular paid employment, concluded a recent national survey. About half of the job seekers questioned said they had experienced discrimination because of their ethnic background.

The survey indicated that more than 50% of Gypsies have had no schooling at all and are illiterate. Fewer than one in 10 has completed upper secondary education. The Gypsy leaders we spoke to wholeheartedly agree with the official view that this has to change.

Change is not coming easily. Having welcomed us into her clean and tidy two-roomed shanty home, a young woman whose husband is serving a 10-year term in jail, explained a dilemma facing many Gypsy mothers like herself. She wanted a good education for her two daughters and was well aware that completing secondary school is now legally mandatory, but  traditionally Gypsy girls are expected to get married as young as 13 or 14.

The national integration strategy hopes that by the end of the decade 30% of young Roma adults will complete secondary or occupational education, and that 2% will complete higher education.

While helping to ameliorate suffering among horses owned by Gypsies, in 2012 Peta Birch recognised the need for specialist medical help among children in encampments. Regardless of race or creed, she was determined to help them. Her family founded the Peta Birch Community Association in her memory after she was tragically killed in a car accident last year.

While currently working in close harmony with Gypsies providing health care, such as dental, ear and optical treatment, her daughter Samantha says, “in the longer term we hope to promote educational opportunities and work skills.”

The sheer scale and complexity of the situation, plus a dearth of financial and material support because of ingrained mistrust and prejudice among potential donors, makes it hard for a small private charity like the Peta Birch Community Association to operate effectively.

Despite this, the charity is determined to forge ahead and its  Roma Family Welfare project will undoubtedly help bridge the racial divide.

l     Roma Family Welfare contacts: http://www.petabirch.org/roma.html

Portugal’s Ukrainians condemn Putin

Ukrainians living in Portugal say they want peace, democracy and the rule of law in their homeland. They condemn Russia’s President Putin for ‘interfering’ in the current crisis there.

“Ukraine is opposed to the rule of force, intimidation and provocations from President Putin’s side,”  Pavlo Sadokha, president of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, told us.

Members of the association have been holding regular protest demonstrations outside the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. These seem set to continue in the run-up to the referendum in which the people of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will be asked if they are in favour of becoming a constituent territory of the Russian Federation and  restoring Crimea’s 1992 constitution.

“We are going do everything we can to wake up public opinion and the political establishment in order to stop Putin’s aggression and interference in Ukraine,” said Mr Sadokha.

He contended that misinformation was being disseminated about the current situation and that some sources were exaggerating divisions.

“First,  the Ukrainians are united against Yanukovych’s dictatorship. Now Putin’s aggression has united Ukrainians in an unprecedented way, without regard to language, religion and origin.

“There is a small percentage of people supporting Russia as can be seen in Crimea, but even there a huge part of the population is opposed to the aggression and Anschluss.

“This part of the population, including not only Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians, but also ethnic Russians, is being intimidated and silenced under threat of weapons and physical violence.”

He added: “We believe diplomatic and economic sanctions are important and should be further enhanced. The military containment - not war -  is also very important and should be launched.”

There are  about 45,000 Ukrainian expatriates living in this country in addition to the 10,000 who have taken out Portuguese citizenship. They represent the second biggest immigrant community after Brazilians.

 Ukrainians have been immigrating to Portugal over the past 20 years because of the economic hardship and massive unemployment that followed the break-up of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991.

They have been attracted by jobs, particularly in the construction industry, and favourable immigration legislation. After the bloodless ‘Orange Revolution’ in 2004 against a rigged run-off  election and amid rising hopes of economic improvement, a number of  Ukrainians returned home.

With the rise of austerity in Portugal, this country is not so attractive anymore and Ukrainians have been moving to better-off countries in the EU, including Germany, France and the UK.

Mr Sadokha confirmed that Ukrainians living abroad not only keep very close ties with their families and developments back home, but hugely contribute to the Ukrainian economy through remittances.

* Ukrainians demonstrating in Lisbon

Golden Visa scheme looks set to soar

Portugal’s burgeoning ‘Golden Visa’ programme could see a huge upsurge in applications, particularly from wealthy Chinese, as a result of the recent scrapping of a controversial investor scheme in Canada.

News of this comes as new measures are about to be introduced to stop alleged abuse of the programme from within immigration services as well as among estate agents and illegal intermediaries.

.The Canadian scheme allowed foreigners with a net worth of more than a million euros (C$1.6 million) to gain residency and perhaps citizenship by lending the government €526,000 (C$800,000) that would be paid back in about five years without interest.

Many Canadians criticised the scheme as a way for rich foreigners to buy citizenship and live abroad without creating jobs or economic growth in Canada.

The scheme was brought to a close in Canada’s budget this month because it was viewed as "a flawed, inefficient way to lure wealthy entrepreneurs who could benefit the economy," according to the Toronto-based Globe and Mail.  It meant that “tens of thousands of those who have applied to the program and are currently on the waiting list will have their fees refunded – but will not have their applications processed,”  reported the newspaper.

The number of would-be investors is believed to be as many as 65,000, with 70% of them Chinese.

“Disappointed would-be Canadian investor migrants would do well to look to Europe, and more precisely to Portugal,” says Rosemary de Rougemont, senior partner with the Lisbon-based legal firm NDR.

“It is an opportunity for Portugal to solidify its Golden Visa programme, which was launched last year and which we have been involved with from the outset.”

Less than 1,000 residence visas have been issued in this country so far. While other countries within the EU have competing schemes, “the Portuguese programme is fast establishing itself as the European migration scheme of choice,” says Rosemary de Rougemont.

“This is because it has achieved a sensible balance between formality and attracting investment,” she adds.

A minimum investment of €500,000 in property can secure a Golden Visa residence permit to citizens of non-EU countries. It may lead to the granting of a permanent residence permit and Portuguese nationality. It also opens the door to unrestricted movement within the 26 countries of the Schengen area and quashes any need to pay tax on foreign earnings for five years.

Portugal is seen as an attractive proposition for rich foreigners seeking more convenience and security than they feel is available in their own countries. 

The potential benefit for Portugal is that significant help in turning around the country’s deeply depressed property market could give a critical lift to the economy as a whole, say advocates of the scheme.

The other ways foreign investors can become eligible is to transfer capital of at least a million euros or create at least 10 jobs in Portugal. Whatever the type of investment chosen, applicants must maintain it for a minimum of five years. There are other conditions, including precautions against money laundering, but for honest applicants these are not onerous.

Many of the Chinese investors have been attracted to the scheme because of concerns about their children’s education and health in their much polluted homeland, or because of speculation that China may be following in Europe’s footsteps and heading for an economic collapse of its own.

Applications have also been coming in from countries as diverse as Russia, Angola, Brazil and South Africa. A growing number are emerging from Arab countries. A Portuguese trade delegation has been visiting Oman this week to familiarise investors there with the programme.

The Association of Professionals and Real Estate Enterprises of Portugal (APEMIP) will soon sign agreements in China aimed at curbing abuses related to the Golden Visa scheme, such as phoney property price inflations and greedy ‘introducers’ cashing in. 
      The agreements, drawn up in collaboration with Portugal’s Ministry of Justice, will be signed during the Portugal-China Property and Investment Road Show  in Shanghai between March 14 and 17.

Yet more Madeleine misinformation

Churning out the news without a care

The recent flurry of fictitious reports about the Madeleine McCann case is another example of how far quality journalism has been replaced by the latest form of ‘churnalism.’

A story is concocted by a reporter and published on the website of a major newspaper or TV network. Within hours, it has been copied, rewritten or translated without anyone bothering to check for accuracy. If it is sensational enough, the story is then regurgitated around the world.

The media have long been able to share important information from established news agencies and other reliable sources. The rot set in with the upsurge some years ago of propaganda and slanted press releases put out by PR people. The Internet has dramatically speeded and simplified shoddy, second-hand reporting.

Churnalism has now reached unprecedented levels with media organisations shamelessly copying one another online. As a result, a profusion of misinformation is spewed out daily.

Last week’s excitement over the Madeleine McCann case was based on the fact that four Scotland Yard detectives flew to the Algarve to meet with Polícia Judiciária counterparts. The visit followed a letter of request sent by the British Crown Prosecution Service to the Portuguese equivalent.

Officials in both countries refused to comment on the contents of the letter or the reason for the visit. This did not stop the British tabloids from improvising. They spoke of “a dramatic breakthrough” and claimed that the arrest of three burglars was “imminent.”

Kate and Gerry McCann were said to be “on tenderhooks” and being "kept fully informed" about the latest developments.

These “exclusive” assertions in the Daily Mirror were picked up and used not only by competing tabloids, but by ‘quality’ papers such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.

Portuguese papers did not jump on the bandwagon, but the revelation of a ‘breakthrough’ spun around the world and found its way into the Sydney Morning Herald, the Times of India, the Huffington Post and the Daily Beast to name but a few online services.

The Epoch Times, which prides itself on being published in 21 languages in 35 countries across five continents, was running the same “imminent arrest” yarn on the same day ITV mercifully set the record straight with the headline: “No imminent plans to make any arrests in Madeleine McCann case.”

ITV described the meeting between British and Portuguese detectives as “a routine part of the investigation to establish what happened to Madeleine McCann.”

USA Today quoted the British investigative reporter and former detective Mark Williams-Thomas as saying, “this isn’t a major breakthrough” and “burglars don’t abduct children.”

By then the media damage had been done. As the Sunday Mirror columnist Carole Malone put it: “How devastating this must all be for Kate and Gerry McCann – another flurry of headlines, more promises of suspects and arrests... and then nothing. Again!”

The copy and paste style of churnalism practised nowadays is akin to plagiarism, but who cares? For example, a retired British police superintendent with a keen interest in the McCann case spotted that several paragraphs in a Daily Mirror story on 28 December had been copied almost word-for-word, without quoting or crediting the source, from a story that had appeared in the Daily Mail on 15 October. He brought this to the attention of both papers and the Press Complaints Commission. They expressed little interest.

Journalistic analysts put the growth in churnalism down to a combination of things, including increased competition, reduced revenues and inadequate staff with insufficient time to verify and properly develop stories.

It is likely to get ever more frantic. We have already moved on from last week’s “imminent arrests” to this week’s tabloid revelation that “detectives are probing a Portuguese gypsy site just 15 minutes away from where Madeleine was snatched.”

Well, maybe, but for starters the place the foreign media are talking about is not a gypsy site at all. 

One thing is certain though: the media will continue to churn out this sort of rubbish as long as there are people who want to read it.

Let the battle of the books begin!

Authorities in Britain are being tight-lipped at the outset of what could become a prolonged historical wrangle involving the world’s two oldest allies.

A unique collection of books plundered during the darkest days of the centuries-old treaty between Portugal and Britain has been cosseted in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford for more than 400 years. The Portuguese now want the books back.

The British Foreign Office and the University of Oxford have received a formal request to return the collection, which was looted by Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, when his troops sacked the city of Faro in 1596.

The Faro organisation that made the request early this month believes it has a reasonable case. A response from the British authorities is awaited.

The seizure took place while Portugal was under Spanish rule during the 16^th century Anglo-Spanish War. A combined British-Dutch fleet under the Lord High Admiral Charles Howard was returning to England after destroying Cádiz when a flotilla pulled into Faro.

Troops led by Essex found the city virtually deserted. He occupied the bishop’s palace for a couple of nights and then loaded up the book collection, comprising at least 91 volumes, before leaving the city ablaze.

Essex presented the collection to his friend Sir Thomas Bodley and it became part of the library Bodley founded in 1602. The Bodleian is still one of the most acclaimed libraries in the world. 

The ownership of the pillaged books is clear because nearly all are uniformly bound and have on their covers the armorial stamp of Ferdinand Mascarenhas, appointed the 5th Bishop of Faro two years before the raid. He died in 1628 as Grand Inquisitor of Portugal.

The request for the books’ return is contained in a motion passed unanimously at the general assembly of a 250-member organisation called Faro 1540, which is devoted to protecting and promoting the cultural heritage of the Algarve capital.

Copies of the motion have been sent to Buckingham Palace and the British Embassy in Lisbon, as well as Portugal’s secretary of state for culture and senior officials in the Algarve. A number of left and centre-right politicians have already vowed to pursue the matter with the secretary of state. Not surprisingly, Faro town hall also supports the initiative.

The president of Faro 1540, Bruno Lage, said yesterday he had heard nothing from the authorities in Britain. In reply to a range of questions about the books from Portugal Newswatch,  a Bodleian spokesperson said: “We are not making any comment at the moment.”

Hopefully, the arguments for and against a repatriation will soon be debated openly. Meanwhile, we are left with fascinating fragments of history and centuries of silence on the issue.

The original culprit in this saga was a derring-do warrior of “irresistible

charm.” Essex, a cohort of Sir Francis Drake, was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. But Her Majesty’s affection at times turned to loathing. She once referred to him as “an unruly beast.” The year after Essex donated the Faro books to Bodley he led a rebellion against the English government and was duly beheaded for treason.

Apparently the bishop never discovered what had become of his treasured books. A Bodleian source told me a few years ago that many of them still occupied the same place on the shelves assigned by Bodley’s first librarian, Dr Thomas James.

They are mostly 16th century treatises on theology, scholastic philosophy and canon law. Some had been published in Germany, France, Belgium and Italy just a few years prior to their theft.

Some historians think the dastardly Devereux may have done everyone a favour by his act of literary looting. Considering their age, the works are still mostly in good condition, according to my original source. Had the books remained in Faro, they almost certainly would have suffered from the ravages of time.

The Inquisition censors had already blotted out what they regarded as heretical sentences and pasted ‘offensive’ pages together. Dr James wrote that the books had been “tormented in a pitiful manner, that it would grieve a man’s heart to see them.”

The question now is will they ever be seen again in Faro? 

There are faint echoes here of the on-going controversy between Britain and Greece over the Elgin Marbles. Among other things, the Earl of Elgin is said to have been concerned about the safety and worsening deterioration of the marbles had he left them in Athens.

When considering whether the Faro books should be returned to their place of origin it must be wondered what state they would be in today had they not been filched in the first place.

On Portugal succeeding where Greece has so far failed, Bruno Lage says, “Our degree of confidence is realistic.” The Faro 1540 request is just the beginning of what he expects to be a lengthy process.

The passing of José Pearce de Azevedo

José Pearce de Azevedo, OBE, former British Honorary Consul in the Algarve, who died on Monday aged 83, has been laid to rest in the cemetery in his hometown of Portimão.

Four days after his admission to the Barlavento Hospital and having been diagnosed with a lung infection, Azevedo died peacefully with his wife Zefita by his bedside.

A great many people from all walks of life attended the funeral service in the Igreja do Colégio, Portimão, on Wednesday. The principal mourners were his wife, their three children, Patricia, Pedro and Marta, and four grandchildren.

A charismatic and colourful personality, Azevedo contributed greatly to the Algarve region, and in particular to the British community here. The British Ambassador, Jill Gallard, paid warm tribute.

His family’s close association with the British began with his grandfather, Manuel Teixeira Gomes, who spent 11 years as Portugal’s ambassador to London before becoming the seventh President of the Republic of Portugal in 1923.

Manuel Teixeira Gomes’ father had been a consul in the Algarve, representing Belgium. Both Azevedo’s father and paternal grandfather served as British vice consuls here.

Having graduated from the University of Lisbon in economics and finance, he was appointed British vice consul in 1965 at the age of 35. In 1974 he became full honorary consul and was of outstanding help to British expatriates during the turbulent period following the 25th April revolution. For this he was awarded an OBE.

Azevedo’s dynamic wife, Zefita, joined him professionally as pro-consul in 1983. He lovingly referred to her as “my field marshal.” They served together with a small but dedicated team in the Portimão Consulate until their retirement in 2000.

In addition to his consular role, he served as the first president of the Algarve Tourist Board and as head of the Portimão port authority.

For many years he played a leading role in the British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce based in Lisbon and the Anglo-Portuguese Society in London. As a long-time member of the Royal British Club in Lisbon, he was also an honorary president of the 41 Club in the Algarve and a founder member of the Association of Foreign Property Owners in Portugal.

The British Ambassador, Jill Gallard, said: ‘I am deeply saddened by José Azevedo’s death. He was a dear and loyal friend of the UK and he will be warmly remembered by me and by many of his former colleagues at the British Consulates in Portimão and Lisbon, and at the Embassy.

“Joe, as he was fondly known, was our Honorary Consul in Portimão for over 30 years and we are extremely grateful for his long and devoted years of service to the British Foreign Office.

“He helped British citizens in distress, supported the wider British community in the Algarve and made a key contribution towards increasing British tourism to the region. Joe fulfilled his role with pride and commitment, but he also had a great sense of humour and was a devoted family man.

“His OBE was a well-deserved award and he will be forever remembered by the many thousands of British citizens who came into contact with him during his vast career as Honorary British Consul in Portimão.

       “Our thoughts are with his wife and family at this difficult time.”

With a photograph of his grandfather in Portimão Museum

Read also: 

algarvenewswatch.blogspot.pt/2011/04/for-35-years-british-foreign.html

Odd weather adds to climate confusion

The storms that battered Portugal’s entire coastline recently, plus extensive flooding in England, prolonged drought in California, extreme cold in northeastern America and extreme heat in Australia, have created further confusion over climate change.

In the aftermath of the most violent waves in 20 years, the cash-strapped Portuguese government is committed to finding €300 million for reconstruction projects, and to reassessing the national strategy for coastal protection.

This is being done amid the backdrop of the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (ENAAC), part of an initiative set in motion by the European Commission to help EU members access and share information on the subject.

The EC’s view is that the climate is certainly changing and that it will continue to do so with far-reaching consequences. ‘Adaptation’ means anticipating the adverse effects and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause.

“Early action will save damage costs later on, so adaptation strategies are needed at all levels of administration, from local to international,” according to the EC.

So Portugal and the EC seem to be in accord, but there is still considerable public confusion internationally about the way in which the climate is changing and whether or not humans are making things worse.

Opinions differ among the global ‘experts’ and it is hard to know who to believe because the science is all so iffy.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the British  parliament that climate change could be behind the relentless rains and flooding that wreaked havoc on Britain recently, but according to the British Met office “it is too early” to make that kind of judgement.  

With the same sort of diffidence, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - the world leader on research into climate change – last year published a report claiming there was some evidence linking some types of extreme weather with man-made climate change.

Extreme weather events have been occurring sporadically throughout history (at least since Noah’s time, according to Genesis). But the chances of them occurring nowadays seem to be increasing. Global warming is increasingly getting the blame.

But is the globe really warming? Many people sitting around their firesides in the northern hemisphere this winter find it hard to believe. Some think it feels more like another ice age on the way.

Part of the bewilderment lies in a misunderstanding of the words ‘weather’ and ‘climate.’ The difference is that ‘weather’ is defined as atmospheric conditions over a short period of time, whereas ‘climate’ refers to conditions over relatively long stretches – months, years, decades or more.

Presenters on Fox News, famous for denying the existence of global warming, predictably used the recent deep freeze in the US to mock the scientific evidence on climate change.

Donald Trump went further and used the stranding of a Russian research ship in ice in Antarctia as another reason to demand in a tweet: “this very expensive global warming bullshit has got to stop.”

The great majority of climatologists believe that weather patterns and trends (rather than individual events) suggest the planet is indeed getting warmer, that carbon dioxide emissions are compounding the situation and that to deny this could have dire repercussions.

Portugal is currently among the world leaders in the annual Climate Change Performance Index. Along with Denmark it relies for its electricity on renewable sources more than other countries in the EU. While little Portugal is doing its bit, China and the other big offenders need to do much more if CO2 emissions are to be reduced from the 2012 record level of 34.5 billion tionnes.   

Within Europe, Portugal and the Mediterranean countries are thought to be the most vulnerable to climate change. With or without stringent controls on CO2 emissions, the long-range forecast is for less rainfall, more heat-waves and droughts. Sea levels are expected to rise significantly, placing much of the coastline at risk before the end of the century.

All this could severely affect such things as food production and the tourist industry.  Desertification could make the landscapes in southern Portugal more like those in northern Africa.

More clarity about what is going on could be just around the corner. Researchers and policy-makers will be attending a three-day international conference in Lisbon 10-12 March. The objective, say the organisers, Circle-2: “To share the results of 10 years of co-operation in climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation research and pave the way for the development of new research in support of climate change adaptation in Europe in the next decade.”

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