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afrol News, 6 June - The Cape Verdean government is proposing the establishment of six new natural parks on five of the archipelago's islands. The project is foreseen to have an impact on the island's fragile environment and on the growing tourism industry in Cape Verde. Maria Teresa Vera-Cruz of the Cape Verdean Environment Directorate was quoted by the national 'Radio Comercial' as saying that the project of the six natural parks would be presented in the capital, Praia, within two weeks. The proposal was well planned for, as the Directorate already had assured a 60 percent financing from Dutch and German partners, she said. The projected six parks will be Chã das Caldeiras (on Fogo Island), Monte Verde (São Vicente Island), Moroços and Ribeira da Torre (Santo Antão Island), Monte Gordo (São Nicolau Island) and Serra da Malagueta (Santiago Island). Monte Verde (774 meters altitude), the highest peak in the northern Island of São Vicente, is expected to be the major tourist attraction of the six parks, with its "attractions, resources and climatic conditions," according to Vera-Cruz. The Directorate had already started to confer with the small-scale farmers within the new park on how to adapt new practices that were environmentally acceptable within the new framework. The dry but picturesque Island of São Vicente still has not attracted much tourism. There are only a few hotels in Mindelo, which is Cape Verde's second town. Monte Verde - which only is green at few occasions - is an inactive volcano. Also Chã das Caldeiras in the southern Fogo Island - a lava plateau from which the island's volcanic cone rises - is a main tourist attraction. Monte Gordo in northern São Nicolau Island also is a volcanic mountain with an altitude of 1304 meters. Serra da Malagueta, located in the main Island of Santiago, covers the sparsely populated northern mountainous part of the island and reaches over 1000 meters altitude. It also has volcanic origin, but the volcanic elements were severely eroded, opening valleys and deep canyons. Cape Verde in general has a dry, Sahelian climate and - due to its volcanic origin - little groundwater resources. Erosion, caused by deforestation and an expanding agriculture, has caused massive problems. It has therefore been seen as a necessity to improve the protection of mountainous areas, which also are collecting the scarce water resource. Attracting tourists is of course a further reason to protect these beautiful areas.
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