«Since I have been in office, which I arrived in 2016, I hardly swim in the sea. And even less with the glasses». The Provincial Environmental Prosecutor, Francisca Sanchezshows his “concern” about the discharges into the sea on the coasts of the entire island. He assures that “Unfortunately, much more garbage is thrown on the coast of Tenerife than it might seem”. He has been able to verify it when touring the island by helicopter with Seprona agents. Sánchez made these statements, which were later echoed by the digital Planeta Canario, at a recent forum held in the municipality of El Rosario.
The prosecutor of the Court that investigates crimes against the environment in the western province details during the round table and the colloquium that “There are even residential developments not received by the city councils that have been without connection to the sewage network for more than a decade.” That is why they dump wastewater “illegally”adds Sánchez Álvarez.
María Francisca Sánchez also emphasizes the link between the illegal occupation of the maritime-terrestrial public domain and contamination by wastewater: “Unfortunately, there are many more discharges than it seems.” “I have toured the Island with civil guards from Seprona in a helicopter and I have seen what has been done along the entire coast,” she underlines, adding: “What you see with urban development actions that generate many problems for the sea due to the waste”.
A debate in El Rosario
During a debate moderated by the Canary Islands Prize winner Wolfredo Wildpret, professor emeritus of botany at the University of La Laguna, Sánchez indicates that the Prosecutor’s Office opens “many investigations” in relation to environmental crimes, but many are archived because it is possible to “restore the physical reality and legal altered”, since the judicial body to which it belongs “although it is appreciated as the one who accuses, it also tries to prevent it”, he adds.
The prosecutor recalls that for failing to comply with the legislation on the treatment of sewage discharged into the ocean, the European Union has condemned and sanctioned Spain to pay “millions of euros per day”. He wonders if it is not better to invest in solving the problem instead of paying those million-dollar penalties. It delves into the idea that it is still being built on the coast of the Island within the maritime-terrestrial public domain and its protection easement. The result: discharges from that construction and wastewater into the sea. A loud complaint: “When trying to evict families for whom these constructions are a second residence, for the most part, it seems that we throw people out on the street”. He reflects: «The movement of citizens who say that we want to deprive them of their [única] living place. And it is not like that”.
In addition, Sánchez mentions the recurring problem in Tenerife of non-tourist developments that have not been received by the respective city council for more than ten years. Hence, they work with unauthorized discharges into the sea and their own generators to obtain electricity.
The prosecutor also highlights the damage originating in certain urbanizations, including golf courses, to the bird species that nest and pass through them, due to the light and noise pollution they suffer.
“terrible” consumerism
Sánchez also alludes to the “terrible consumerism” of a society that “discards waste and “does not reuse it.” He advocates raising awareness from school so that children grow up aware of the need for recycling. Finally, Francisca Sánchez recounts that during the pandemic, the provincial prosecutor’s offices carried out a study on the management of health care waste linked to covid-19 in hospitals. She values: “In all cases they sent us the protocols, but in reality we did not know what was being done with that polluting waste.”
The round table took place at the House of Culture of La Esperanza, the administrative capital of El Rosario, and, in addition to the prosecutor, active politicians and experts in disciplines related to the natural environment participated, focusing on Tenerife.
