PETITION TO STOP THE ALQUEVA DAM PROJECT
AND TO PRESERVE ENDANGERED PREHISTORIC ROCK ART

It has come to my attention that completion of the Alqueva Dam project will cause the destruction of thousands of images of irreplaceable ancient rock art (petroglyphs). Over 400 panels of the prehistoric art are located within the impact zone of the dam along the Portuguese and Spanish sides of the Guadiana River.

I am sending this petition to you to urge that you suspend the Alqueva Dam project immediately. The rock art is an irreplaceable treasure that belongs to the cultural heritage of all people of the world. As a principled person dedicated to public service, your conscience must persuade you to preserve these precious prehistoric glyphs for the benefit of everyone.

The reason this petition is coming to you at this late date is because its only been a few months since a group of ecologists discovered the first of the endangered rock art sites and brought them to the publics attention. If proper surveys had been carried out in the Alqueva Dam impact zone and reported all the facts (including the rock art sites) before final development decisions, surely the project would have been disapproved during the planning stage.

You must move to stop this project now.

List of 2302 people who endorsed the petition to Portuguese government and European Union till the 18 February 2002, list of University, Museums and Institutions (439 entries) who sign and list of WHY the Alqueva petition was signed