The Portuguese campaign has already generated 16,000 complaint letters, reaching half a million views on YouTube and has had four documentaries made.
Tony Butt, a doctor of Physical Oceanography, said: "Politicians are talking about investing hundreds of millions of Euros to build more coastal defenses, so on the one hand they are spending hundreds of millions to protecting the coast. On the other hand they are also spending hundreds of millions of Euros building these dams, which are a large cause of the coastal erosion in the first place. To me that doesn't make sense".
The issue is also about the economic, social and cultural preservation of “Alto Douro Vinhateiro”, the oldest demarcated region in the world. Jorge Pelican directed “The Last Days of Tua” campaign and four documentaries featuring Pedro Duarte, Manuel Queiroga, Ricardo Inverno and Aníbal Gonçalves bringing attention to the direct impact that filling the dam will have on the region they live in.