Mangroves plan for Areia Preta coastline dropped for budgetary reasons

The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has dropped its plans to plant mangroves along the coast of Areia Preta, according to the bureau’s reply to lawmaker Ho Ion Sang’s interpellation.

In 2019, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) announced a plan to fertilize rows of mangroves along the northern coast of the Areia Preta area in order to reduce wastewater and malodorous pollution in this part of Macau.

DSPA Director Tam Vai Man even pledged that mangroves would help to eliminate the stench at Areia Preta because these trees would absorb the silt that had accumulated along the coastline and, in turn, the area’s overall environment would be improved.

According to the IAM, the Macau SAR has submitted a report to the Central Government expressing the desire for land reclamation in the vicinity of the Oriental Pearl area.

“Considering the principle for carrying out the concerned [reclamation] work and the proper use of public money, [the government] has already suspended the mangrove planting plan,” the IAM told Ho.

According to the government’s original announcement, planting mangroves should have already started in the beginning of spring this year.

Tam previously claimed that growing mangroves is a prospective solution to solve Areia Preta’s environmental issues as it poses minimum impact on the environment.

According to Tam’s previous explanation, the source of Areia Preta coastal water pollution is the silt, together with wastewater. 

The IAM said that the department already completed the silt cleanup in 2019. The municipal authority also said that with the help of several government departments, along Av. Norte do Hipódromo, the authority has built wastewater blocking channels and other facilities to divert all wastewater into a treatment plant.

The IAM believes that the origins of Areia Preta’s wastewater stench problem have already been dealt with.

While the mangrove plan has been suspended, the IAM has proposed to build a bicycle trail and a running trail at the northeastern side of the coast of this area.