Lagoa de Obidos is a good site for birdwatching. Even though the lagoon is polluted with fertilisers from adjacent agricultural fields and quite possibly other sources of pollution I could not identify, there are still resistent birds that search for food and shelter here. This is the largest lagoon in the coast of Portugal, but even then its size has shrinked due to human intervention. The first time we went there was in April and we hardly saw anyone walking in the footpaths. But the quietness was welcome and this matched well with the beauty of the place. Surpisingly, the application for the lagoon to become a RAMSAR site was only submitted in 2025. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention (1971) for their biodiversity, rarity, and ecological value. Nevertheless, the lagoon is now part of the Oeste Geopark (UNESCO), which was approved and established in 2024. In my memory remains the flocks of white flamingos that we saw, as well as the flowers and the butterflies. This site should have an strategy with rosbust actions to be protected against pollution, invasives, climate change impacts, people and development. Unfortunately, the Atlantic woodlands that surround it are becoming decimated by construction, surely not for continuous residence but for second houses or international investment and foreigners. In Portugal, we are giving up our natural places and all the benefits these bring for society, for concrete.
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