Monte Gordo Nature Park Restrictions Limit Building in Inland São Nicolau

A Protected Area Shaping the Land Market

Any project within the protected area requires an environmental impact study.

Cheaper Land, but Very Limited Use

A plot bordering the park barely exceeds CVE 400,000.

Fines for Unauthorised Building

Fines for unauthorised construction can reach CVE 500,000.

Indirect Pressure on the Rest of the Inland Market

Demand is shifting towards Ribeira Brava and Tarrafal de São Nicolau.

A Massif of Great Ecological Value

Monte Gordo Nature Park protects one of the last surviving pockets of Macaronesian laurel forest in Cape Verde, home to endemic species found nowhere else in the archipelago. Environmental officials insist the building restrictions are not an administrative whim, but a response to the need to preserve an extremely fragile ecosystem. Local conservation groups have even called for the protected perimeter to be extended to include buffer zones currently left outside the official boundary.

Landowners Torn Between Resignation and Grievance

Several owners of land bordering the park complain that their holdings lost value overnight with no compensation whatsoever, while others accept the restrictions as part of the price of living next to a unique natural area. Some have chosen to switch their plots to low-impact farming, such as growing highland coffee, which is permitted under certain conditions. The absence of a clear route to financial compensation remains a source of friction between residents and the authorities.

The Role of the Direção Nacional do Ambiente

Sources at the Direção Nacional do Ambiente stress that any exception to the protection rules must go through a rigorous environmental impact study, and that the fines imposed are specifically meant to prevent a repeat of the unauthorised construction detected in previous years. Ground monitoring has been stepped up with regular patrols by forest rangers, and there are plans to digitise the land registry to detect any unauthorised earthworks sooner.

Ribeira Brava and Tarrafal the Main Beneficiaries

While inland areas of the island see their land supply restricted, Ribeira Brava is attracting an ever-greater share of property transactions thanks to its status as the administrative capital, and Tarrafal de São Nicolau is drawing buyers who want to be close to the sea. Local agents note that this redistribution of demand could end up pushing up prices in both towns too over the medium term, especially if the nature park's protected area is extended in future.