Teide National Park announces a campaign to improve cleanliness

The address of the Teide National Park has reacted to the recent public complaint of the mountaineers of Tenerife about the dirt in the surroundings of the Altavista Refuge and to the cleaning day that they carried out afterwards. Manuel Durbán, its director since the mid-90s, announces “a shock campaign, which we had already planned for mid-September, last summer, and now we want to advance to the first of the month.” In addition, specific posters have been commissioned and maintenance around the Refuge will be reinforced. Durbán clarifies: «At heart this is a question of environmental conscience; or rather, its lack.

“Congratulations for such an excellent job and my personal thanks”. It is the first thing that the director of the Park says about the recent action of the mountaineers of Tenerife who had their support and permission from the beginning.

Durbán acknowledges that “the closure of the Altavista Refuge has complicated the situation in that environment and it is not possible to put an agent behind each hiker.” He points out that “there are very conscientious people like these mountaineers who carry their bags and deposit them in the waste recycling containers in Montaña Blanca.” However, “others are not at all and leave all kinds of residue in their wake. A lamentable panorama of trash beauty ».

Durbán delves into the subject: «In this post-confinement period and with the pandemic there, but with less intensity, many are those who go out to the mountains for the first time but with an urban mentality. They are neither environmentally conscious nor respect a natural environment of this level, which is the pride of all the people of Tenerife ”.

That is why the director of the National Park understands that it is “necessary to redouble efforts in environmental education.” Also remember: «We are studying the possibility of increasing the posters on the issue of waste abandonment and increasing cleaning, at least with a reinforcement period. But it is necessary to analyze the budgetary availabilities ». Regarding the shock cleaning campaign, he assures: «Unfortunately, it usually happens that after fifteen days it is the same or worse as dirty again, but that does not mean that it does not have to be promoted. And that’s what we’re going to do at the beginning of September ». Durbán has contacted the Highways and Landscape Service, the area of ​​the Cabildo responsible for the management of the Altavista Refuge, to “ensure the enclosure of the enclosure and the cleanliness of its surroundings.”

«Last Monday, he revealed, A technician from the island area was in the area and it has been agreed to reinforce the access doors to prevent vandalism and extend the maintenance with periodic cleaning in the surroundings of the Refuge ». Regarding the posters, he states: “There are already panels that indicate that you should not leave the trails or throw waste but we are going to face a campaign against garbage that seems to prevail in the Teide National Park.”

He values ​​the reopening of the Refuge: “It is a bureaucratic issue and we will have to wait for the hiring process to finish.” He acknowledges that “they are usually long and some can last for years. Hopefully not in this case.