Ericeira surfers. Photo: Jarno Colijn // Unsplash
As the EDP Ericeira Pro went down in the heart of Portugal’s surfing scene, the Ericeira World Surfing Reserve hosted the final day of the Global Wave Conference. There, the Reserve announced its updated plans for the continuing effort to protect the region from development and environmental threats.
The leaders of the Local Stewardship Council (LCS) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ericeira WSR partners that include representation from the Municipality of Mafra, Ericeira Surf Clube, Salvem O Surf, and Associação dos Amigos da Baía dos Coxos. The plan outlined an updated governance structure and a renewed commitment to conservation goals.
According to a press release from environmental nonprofit Save The Waves, the goals of the new plan include “protecting the water quality around the surf ecosystem, ensuring safe management of surf schools, continuing to protect open land and manage encroaching coastal development, and work towards legal protection in the coastal zone around Ericeira.” To that end, 15 hectares of coastal property were earmarked for restoration and permanent preservation and over seven-million euros were slated for a new sewage treatment system.
The World Surfing reserve program was launched by environmental NGO Save The Waves in 2009 and “proactively identifies, designates, and preserves outstanding waves, surf zones and their surrounding environments,” as STW describes on its site. Malibu Surfrider beach was named the first reserve in 2010, followed by Ericeira in 2011. The Ericeira reserve encompasses eight kilometers of coastline in Portugal’s prime surfing region and includes breaks such as Ribeira d’Ilhas and Coxos.
