The
Stamp
The stamp comes from 4 values issue,
the set also includes 2 Souvonir sheets each with 1 design.
This issue, with a regional theme
from the Azores, publicises some of the lakes of the archipelago: Lagoa
Comprida (Flores Island), Lagoa do Caldeirao (Corvo), Lagoa do Capitao
(Pico), Lagoinha (Terceira), Lagoa da Faja de Santo Cristo (Sao Jorge)
and Lagoa das Furnas (Sao Miguel). By depicting the natural environment
of these six lakes, the issue also evokes the plant and animal communities
of the surrounding areas. The Azores juniper (Juniperus brevifolia) and
the ivy (Hedera azorica) represent the flora. For the local fauna appear
the woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), the brown butterfly (Hipparchia azorina)
and the dragonfly (Anax imperator), the tufted duck (Aythya ferina), the
common teal (Anas crecca), the capped heron (Ardea cinerea) and the rosy
tern (Sterna dougallii), besides the clam (Ruditapes decussatus), the famous
Faja de Santo Cristo clam, the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and the
tessellate moray (Muraena helena).
Through their natural beauty, the
lakes on the Azores have contributed substantially for the archipelago
to be considered, by international sustained tourism, as the second-best
group of islands in the world. In fact, from the geological, biological
and economic point of view, the lakes represent an important heritage that
should be protected. They are fundamental, for instance, for the water
cycle, for balancing the landscape and for the Atlantic routes of migratory
birds. By selecting these six lakes on the Azores as philatelic theme,
the Portuguese Post Office (CTT Correios de Portugal) aim to underline
some of the features of the surrounding biodiversity.
This issue is the result of a protocol
signed between the Portuguese Post Office and the Institute of Nature and
Biodiversity Conservation, and follows the company desire to contribute
to the major European objective of "stopping biodiversity loss before 2010".
|