Pedro Bettencourt, NEMUS’ Director General, chaired the Organizing Committee of the 6th International Congress on Planning and Management of Coastal Areas in Portuguese-speaking countries, which took place between 6 and April 8, 2011 on the Island of Boa Vista (Cape Verde).

This year’s conference, entitled “Coastal Zones at Risk,” was attended by about 180 participants and hosted the presentation of a vast set of communications of elevated technical and scientific quality in a variety of areas of activity, notably planning, land management, environmental impact assessment, vulnerability and risk, biodiversity and climate change and coastal engineering and protection.

The opening of the congress was attended by the Secretary of State of Cape Verde for Marine Resources and the Councillor for Education of the City of Boa Vista, which addressed the major challenges of the coastal zone of the host country. From Portugal stood out the (active) participation, for the first time in this congress, of two Mayors (Peniche and Torres Vedras).

The congress was preceded (4 and 5 April) by the 1st Intensive Course on Coastal Management – Risk Analysis, whose coordination counted with Pedro Bettencourt and Sonia Alcobia, from NEMUS. The course was supported by a technical, scientific and professional body of recognized merit in the areas addressed (risk in sandy and rocky coastlines, environmental impact, pollution and climate change) and ended with a technical visit of Boa Vista Island.

The balance of these events was very positive and they showed that, although Portuguese-speaking countries have diverse landscape, ecological, socio-economic and cultural realities, the main problems in the coastal zone are largely very similar, so it’s essential to bet on an integrated management policy.

On 7 March NEMUS completed 15 years old.

While preparing a well-deserved celebration of the event, the team toasted all who contributed to the growth and success of the company since its foundation in 1997.

Congratulations to NEMUS and all who were part of the team or that cooperated with us (consultants, partners and customers)!

NEMUS has taken part in the 11th Water Congress, with the motto “Valuing water in a context of uncertainty ‘, held in Porto, between the 5th and 8th of February.

In this event, which brought together experts and stakeholders on water resources, NEMUS has participated in 8 communications: 7 dedicated to the theme of ‘Planning and Management of Water Resources” and one on “Water Quality and Ecosystems”.

NEMUS experience on the elaboration of the recent River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) of Alentejo and Algarve motivated most of these communications, which addressed issues as diverse as: policies for water management and biodiversity, critical aspects of the diagnostic process of water bodies, the economic analysis of water uses by urban systems and the formulation of prospective scenarios and cost-effectiveness analysis of environmental measures. NEMUS’s participation in developing the National Water Plan 2010 has also motivated a communication devoted to the topic.

NEMUS was represented in the 11th Water Congress by its General Director, Dr. Pedro Bettencourt and by: Dr. Ana Raquel Agra (biologist), Eng. Maria Grade (environmental engineer), Dr. Pedro Afonso Fernandes (economist) and Eng. Nuno Charneca (biophysical engineer).