Revaluing Saltscapes in Portugal

Abstract

Solar salinas in Portugal are progressively changing from places of work to places of tourism. The research question is the extent to which these special landscapes have been understood, marketed, and enhanced to the benefit of mostly tourists and visitors or also local constituencies. This research question arises from a sense of stigmatization, perceived lack of potential, and outmoded technological development associated with traditional cultural heritage and sun and sea tourism paradigms. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze how two Portuguese municipalities (i.e., Aveiro and Figueira da Foz) have engaged in the rehabilitation of their solar salinas. The argument is that given the considerable natural areas of wetlands in the case studies, solar salinas, and their potentialities from ecotourism and environmental education ought to perform a more central role in the municipalities' territorial development strategies. The key finding is the identification of a set of lessons learned useful to the partial rehabilitation of solar salinas.