Yesterday afternoon five sailboats arrived in Machico. They are part of a scientific and humanitarian expedition to the Bijagos archipelago in Guinea-Bissau that will leave Madeira this weekend.
Coordinated by Miguel Tristão Teixeira, an environmentalist living in the region, the mission includes a further five sailboats leaving from the Canaries. Ten vessels will participate in the expedition crewed by sailors from Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The expedition aims to monitor the plastics and medical waste that accumulates after the rainy season on the Bijagós islands, find out the origin, and send a report with the findings to the United Nations and Europe.
Further tasks include cleaning the beaches of the island of Poilao so that leatherback turtles can spawn; bringing essential goods to the populations of the 20 inhabited islands (out of a total of 88), such as clothing, food, and medicines, the placement of a lighthouse on the island of Urangozino, after the last one was deactivated more than 45 years ago, thus minimising the loss of human life in maritime tragedies.
This trip to the African archipelago, classified by UNESCO as an Ecological Reserve of the Biosphere, can be followed via their website, bijagos-expedition.com, and Facebook.
The Municipality of Machico is one of the entities that support the mission, as well as the Women’s Presence Association, whose president, Maria Helena Pestana, is an advisor to the government of Guinea-Bissau.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
