Of the different services of the Civil Guard to the vigilantes of the insular institution, those who promote municipalities such as Santa Cruz, the capital, or those attached to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. In total, about 170 professional staff are specifically in charge of enforcing regulations in natural areas both land and sea on the Island of Tenerife. The draft of the Strategic Biodiversity Plan prepared by the Cabildo (242 pages of detailed information) clearly considers them “insufficient”. It seems logical in a territory that has 48.6% of its protected area and houses spaces as wide and diverse as the Teide National Park. The document, which has been in the period of public exposure until July 31, advocates unifying surveillance efforts and that this be reflected in short black on white.
The human resources available to exercise surveillance on the island’s terrain make up an operation of diverse origins, “in any case insufficient,” as the document values, in the natural terrestrial environment and in the surveillance of the sea. In the first, there are more than 80 personnel, while for the marine environment there are 4 agents for fisheries inspection and the Semar personnel – some 70 on the island between crews and GEAS – who do include among their functions tasks of protection of the nature and the marine environment.
Greater public use
The enormous work of surveillance and inspection has been notably increased by the increase in public use of natural spaces, especially on weekends when there is a small number of troops present in the territory. In any case, always according to the assessment of the plan “efficiency could be notably complemented with a minimum of coordination.” To this end, the Cabildo will promote the joint development of a Surveillance Plan between the three parties involved: Insular Agency for the Protection of the Urban and Natural Environment, Cabildo de Tenerife and Seprona of the Civil Guard.
East Surveillance framework plan will be “simple, flexible and should not go into details” to place “special emphasis on the forms and means of coordination and the territorial or functional distribution of the actions.” It will give priority to “monitoring compliance with imposed environmental conditions.” It will also foresee “the holding of joint seminars for the improvement of agents”.
The Plan also states that “priority campaigns are established in this strategy.” Among them «several of an informative nature in the two airports of the Island to warn travelers arriving in Tenerife that they should not import biological material – excluding pets – due to the risk that this implies for the island’s biodiversity and ecological balances ».
Something equivalent, on a smaller scale, is proposed for the stations of the ships that cover inter-island maritime traffic – the ports of Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The document emphasizes in this chapter on the “non-convenience of transferring biological material between islands.”
The plan advocates “mentalization rather than control.” In this regard, one of the keys pointed out is “to verify that natural habitats are not sacrificed when there are other lands already transformed where the proposed uses or services can be located.”
in addition it is proposed to «detect the foreseen cases of removal of the vegetation cover to coordinate the collection of flora specimens, if feasible. ‘
Legislation
Organic Law 2/1986 on Security Forces and Bodies attributes to the Civil Guard the specific function of “ensuring compliance with the provisions that tend to the conservation of nature and the environment” (…) “And of carrying out the actions tending to favor the normal development of flora and fauna and protected species ”. By virtue of this mandate, in 1988 Seprona was created with 23 agents on the island.
To the Council, for its part, corresponds “the investigation, inspection, initiation, processing and resolution of sanctioning procedures for infringement of regulatory regulations on the environment.” For this function of the Nature Police, it has eight Comarca Chiefs and practically one agent for each of the 31 municipalities of the Island. These agents –33– come by delegation from the Autonomous Community and belong to the Medium Agents Corps. Environment, created by Law 81/1989. Among other functions they deal with “the custody, protection and surveillance of forest wealth, natural spaces, flora, fauna and landscape, as well as inspection and police related to the regulations on ecological or environmental impact assessments.” The Cabildo also has 13 own agents who carry out “functions related to wildlife and hunting.”
The third leg, the autonomous one, is the Agency for the Protection of the Urban and Natural Environment created by the Law of the Territory (DL 1/2000, art. 229) as a technical body. Its function is “the inspection and sanction in environmental matters and the management of natural, territorial and urban resources”. It operates with 20 agents throughout the Canary Islands who travel around the islands in campaigns mostly focused on urban discipline and pollution control.
The frame
The Biodiversity Strategy is a working guide for institutions and private initiative on the problems and possible solutions for environmental conservation in Tenerife. The Island presents a complex reality – 2,034.38 Km2 of surface, 48.6% protected -, a great wealth of environmental values and a large number of spaces regulated by different regulations that integrate habitats and exclusive and high-interest species.
The writing of a document that detects the main weaknesses and threats that affect and may affect the natural heritage in the future is essential to deploy a series of lines of action for the conservation and improvement of biodiversity. And there the Nature Police plays a decisive role.
Different origins and the same objective
Among those who deal with environmental protection on the island, both by land and by sea, the draft of the insular Strategic Plan includes the 467 from the Canary Islands Police and the 1,572 local police from the 31 municipalities. Without counting on this specific collaboration, like that of other State Security Corps, read the National Police, the relationship, with always approximate numbers, would be established at about 170 troops. One party has national jurisdiction such as the Civil Guard agents. A total of 23 from the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) and 70 from the Maritime Service (Semar) that turns 30 this year active. In this case, about 55, in patrol boats and other tasks, and about 15 of the Underwater Group of the GEAS that this 2021 celebrates four decades since its creation. Another group is integrated into the staff of the Autonomous Community (4 Fisheries Inspection agents and 10 of the Environment). Of insular scope are the Agents of Environment of the Cabildo, 39; the Guardians of Natural Spaces, 6, or the Rural Guards, 16. Finally, with municipal authority the 12 agents of the Natural Environment Unit (Umen) of the Santa Cruz City Council, who, above all, carry out their work in Anaga. Sources close to the Civil Guard also recall that “all officers receive basic or more specific training on the environment.” They add: “This Corps was born for its development in the rural world and it is essential to know the reality of fishing, hunting or the mountains from a neighborhood perspective.” A contribution to the enormous task of qualified, but scarce professionals.
