Santa Cruz Environmental Education Centre is an investment for the future

Guarantee from Portugal’s Minister for the Environment and Energy, at the inauguration of the Centre

Maria da Graça Carvalho, who is visiting our country, considered that the Environmental Education Centre, inaugurated on Monday the 10th in the Municipality of Santa Cruz, is an investment for the future and represents a “platform for sustainability and resilience in the Municipality”.

“The environment is well-being, it is health, it is economic development, and without a good environment none of that can be achieved,” she said, arguing that investing in Cabo Verde’s future means investing in the environment, in the quality of water and air, in reducing waste, and in the fight against climate change, which is global but in which Cabo Verde has its part to play.

The centre, as she stressed, is dedicated to the youngest, to the children, who will be able to use it to read, watch videos, play games and do everything it offers, combining environmental education and the best environmental practices.

For his part, Cabo Verde’s Minister for Agriculture and Environment, Gilberto Silva, said that the centre will help to improve attitudes and practices, but also to strengthen the knowledge of all members of the community, of all citizens involved in matters related to environmental protection.

“The centre is geared towards both adults and children and makes it possible to do excellent work with civil society organisations, but also with residents and several other authorities,” he assured.

Gilberto Silva pointed out that there are already other centres in other Municipalities, showing the Government’s willingness to work with everyone to create centres where there are none and to strengthen those that already exist, as a way of promoting a “good exchange of experiences and important content, and spreading the best values and principles in the field of the environment and climate”.