“Regulate rather than prohibit.” With this phrase, García summarizes the philosophy of his department in this area because “access to natural space is everyone’s right. To enjoy our landscape and learn from it but with good habits. Therefore, adequate environmental education is essential. And regular presence of actions in certain places, especially after going through the hardest part of the pandemic of the Covid-19».
App.
The counselor anticipates that “we are already working on the development of a hiking application that we hope will be operational in March or April of next year.” This APP, as a result of the use of new technology, will allow, among other things, to order access control and passage, define possible routes, report incidents related to security or verify the capacity in recreational spaces. It would not be intended only for walkers but for all those who usually move through the mountains: 4×4 users, motorcyclists, cyclists …
Massification.
Isabel García acknowledges that “now there are many more people who want to go out into the wild than in the period before the pandemic.” And he values: “This use of natural public spaces has never been seen before.” This leads, he stresses, “sometimes, to the overcrowding of places that become fashionable where it is necessary to order and regulate.” To this is added, explains Isabel García, that “many people who occasionally go to the natural environment are not used to working in it.” He gives examples of those who go to the mountains bare-chested out of ignorance: without water, with inappropriate clothing, with children in areas of certain risk or without taking into account the length of the route to be faced.
Information.
For all the above, the counselor understands that “we must signal and inform better. There is a desire to use the natural environment as a place of leisure and recreation. This is a joy because people want to enjoy their Island and its landscapes. But in order and without security problems ». In this regard, he adds that “we are going to increase the surveillance of certain points of our geography. For it the first thing will be to increase the number of environmental agents of the Council because the current staff, up to a total of 47, is clearly insufficient to guarantee surveillance tasks on the island of Tenerife. For this reason, he announces “a forthcoming call to take out these new places.” In this sense, he values that “their function is twofold: to monitor, of course, but also to educate because they know those spaces and know of the imperative need to conserve them properly.” Combined, it is committed to «advertising campaigns and other specific environmental education and training for primary school children. This is key to having good habits now, but especially in the future. He summarizes: “Unite surveillance and, if appropriate, sanction with awareness.”
Conservation.
The strategy for the conservation of biodiversity in Tenerife, a roadmap for the next ten years, is another fundamental piece in the search to make biodiversity on an island scale compatible with human action. The document allows to raise European funds in actions such as the preservation of nature and ecological restoration; green corridors to boost lungs in city environments or the fight against invasive species. In addition to creating ecosystem services that improve the economy such as the creation of cultural or gastronomic routes associated with nature and linked to green tourism, the greening of cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, etc. The EU, through the European Green Deal, allocates 39% of the Union’s funds for actions aimed at the ecological and climate transition. An investment aimed at finding solutions based on biodiversity and nature. Isabel García points out that “this island strategy represents a great opportunity for the 31 municipalities and for all public administrations as they have a clear and consensual roadmap”. The counselor appoints that “citizen involvement is essential to achieve these objectives.”
Legislation.
The use of trails and natural spaces in Tenerife is regulated by regional regulations such as Law 4/2017, of July 13, on the Soil and Protected Natural Areas of the Canary Islands. Or also the Forest Planning of the Canary Islands Government. There is also an insular framework: the Regulation for the management of traffic on forest tracks in Tenerife and the Insular Strategy for Trails. This regulation alludes to the rise of hiking, both of the resident and foreign population, as well as the reason that public administrations have been involved in the recovery and conditioning of roads. All this in order to be able to have an offer of trails that is the basis, not only for the enjoyment of the natural environment and knowledge of protected natural spaces, but also to show other areas and resources of the Island. Between 2017 and 2018 , the Cabildo prepares the aforementioned Insular Pathways Strategy approved by the Governing Council on December 19, 2018. This document is considered widely consensual and participatory since an advance was prepared that was sent to various areas of the Cabildo, to all municipalities, federations and other social entities involved and was available on citizen platforms. It consists of two volumes, one referring to diagnosis, and a second called Actions, which reflects the 31 basic tasks to implement a coherent and homogeneous island network in terms of image and quality. Finally, on April 2, 2019, the Governing Council approves the Criteria of the Homologation Guide of the Tenerife Trail Network, a document that includes the requirements and procedures for the coordinated action of all the administrations involved, within the framework of the Decree 11/2005, of February 15, which creates the Red Canaria de Senderos.
Masca: a ‘hot spot’
The counselor met on Friday with the agents involved in mobility and access to the Masca ravine. From Tourism to Roads passing through Titsa, the Buenavista City Council or the Teno Rural Park staff. García describes Masca as a “hot spot due to the overcrowding of people and vehicles. It is necessary to regulate more and better ». He sees a “success” the measure of discouraging parking on weekends and taking users by bus. One problem has been the length of these buses, which makes it difficult to pass through narrow roads. “We are working with the DGT and Mobility to find a solution.” He kept another appointment with car rental companies to regulate. He proposes that on big excursions the habit of “have a coffee and carry on” should be imposed. “Anaga or Teno, where only visitors enter, are not the same as spaces with homes and activity.”
