Tenerife moves towards a model of sustainable tourism that respects the natural environment At the same time, it is committed to diversifying the tourist offer that exists on the Island in order to offer a first-class experience in close connection with nature, an increasingly popular claim among travelers.
The Cuna del Alma project, which will be located in Puertito de Adeje and is included in the General Plan of Adeje and in the Tourism Plan of the Council of Tenerife, seeks to urbanize the building land in the area. An action that includes the recovery of the original Puertito beach, the construction of the relevant road network and the development of tourist facilities, specifically apartments and villas, according to the project director, Andrés Muñoz.
The name Cradle of the Soul is used for sensitivity to the area. It has been designed from a perspective of environmental respect and integration with the landscape, since the area in which the action is planned has suffered significant deterioration in recent years due to human action. This project, therefore, aims to recover the soul of this emblematic place in the south of Tenerife, enhancing its natural characteristics.
With this project, we seek to respect the natural environment, leaving, in addition, areas of enjoyment and recreation for public use. of those who want it, says Muñoz, who denies that there is an attempt to privatize the beach, build a port or a sports pier. He also insists that it does not affect the Caleta Site of Scientific Interest in any way.
This complex, made up of villas and apartments, not only seeks to guarantee the maximum preservation and integration with the environment of this area of the Island, but also positions itself as a diversification of the tourist hotel offer that Tenerife offers towards quality tourism, promoting one of the main socioeconomic engines of the Island and the Canary Islands.
Every day more accommodations are demanded that are concerned about reducing the carbon footprint, and other factors are taken into account when organizing a vacation to make it more sustainable. For this reason, this project is designed for a type of first-class traveler who moves away from the concept of the masses, who is aware of and committed to sustainable tourism and who is precisely looking for a destination that combines authenticity and excellence. A concept that respects the ecosystem, with minimal impact on the environment and local culture and that, in economic terms, seeks to generate employment and income for the native population, in addition to improving services in the area.
For this, the development of this project, as well as its subsequent maintenance and management, contemplates creating around 750 jobs, directly and indirectly. In this sense, the initiative already has the involvement of more than a dozen archaeologists, environmentalists, biologists and landscapers, among other professionals, many of them originally from the Island and from Puertito itself, so they are well acquainted with the reality that surrounds this space.
Respect for the environment and integration with the surroundings.
Nestled in the volcanic landscape of southern Tenerife, Cuna del Alma seeks to become a model of sustainable tourism, respectful of the natural environment in which it will be located, preserving its conservation and also improving access for citizens to the area of the beach.
This beach has been affected over the years by the construction of a warehouse for the export of tomatoes and by the construction of a wall that has cut out the original beach. In this line, it is proposed to propose to Costas the recovery of this space, eliminating all the concrete walls that have been erected and that contravene the current law. On the other hand, according to the approved Environmental Sustainability Report, it is planned to demolish two thirds of the warehouse and conserve the remaining third to create an ethnographic museum, which will show the original agricultural activity in the area. An example of the involvement of the project in the care and dissemination of issues related to the culture and society of Tenerife. All this, with the constant objective of preserving the original environment and facilitating the enjoyment of this beach, which will be in full public domain.
The project contemplates certified low-rise buildings, according to the use of the best international practices, by the independent GREEN or LEED organisms, for which it seeks an important integration in the environment in which it will be located, with buildings made with respectful materials. , efficient lighting, photovoltaic production or irrigation system that will use resources from recycled water treatment plants.
In addition, the current project is not going to consume more than 50% of the permitted buildable area, so it only contemplates building a much smaller building with 90 rooms, outside the protection easement, despite having authorization to build some 300, which which translates into have 1,800 beds of the 3,600 initially planned and that the regulations allow.
The initiative, which will be developed on some 435,000 square meters, will only affect 136,000 and plans to dedicate 45% of the land to public land, making it possible to work in that line of care and respect for the environment, which is one of the main values that defines this project .
In this line of environmental respect and preservation of the place, the initiative does not affect in any way the Site of Scientific Interest of La Caleta, since it is outside the scope of action in which the project will be developed, in compliance with the General Plan of Urban Planning of Adeje.
Protection of homes in El Puertito.
The project guarantees the safeguarding and protection of the historic settlement of the 20 houses of El Puertito. According to the president of the Neighborhood Association, Mariluz Galindo, who is in favor, “most of the neighbors are calm” and, she says, they are not opposed to carrying out the tourism project, since they are aware that it will improve the environment, houses will be respected, services will be improved and public spaces currently invaded by illegal settlements will be recovered.
It also clarifies that in a first phase they were worried about “running out of our houses”, but the promoters have confirmed that this is not going to happen, since the houses are insured and protected in the name of their current owners.
Commitment to flora and fauna.
The name of the Cuna del Alma project alludes to the sensitivity of the tourist facility with the area that will host it. The promoters explain that, within the framework of the proposal, a program for the recovery and creation of a marine classroom is proposed to help protect the turtles, a species that currently can no longer be found in the area due to the condition caused by the uncontrolled presence of boats and human pressure over the years.
In this sense, The main tourist and social attraction of the area is the landscape, but currently it is the most fragile and deteriorated, so the initiative aims to serve as a tool when it comes to ensuring the replenishment of natural resources and the protection and conservation of biodiversity.
In this line of work, dedicated to guaranteeing the close link between those who can enjoy the tourist facility itself and the general public with the natural environment, the conservation of two species of flora is also proposed, as indicated in the reports of the experts, who are the tabaibal and the cardonal. The project team is already protecting and recovering up to a thousand plants of these species, which are being transplanted to a nursery to later be able to repopulate different plots of Puertito.
With the aim of facilitating the adaptation of wild species to the new environment, provisional drinking fountains and nests are also being installed, actions that are being carried out in accordance with the reports issued by the environmental body of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The project thereforedoes not affect any of the species that inhabit the areaas is the case of the curlews, which, according to reports from the regional Executive, is a species that nests in the La Caleta Area of Scientific Interest and not in the plots where the complex will be built.
Cleaning of the ravines.
One of the fundamental pillars of the project revolves around the recovery and rehabilitation of the ravines that have suffered significant deterioration over the years due to illegal occupations and camping, turning this area, in particular, into a particularly punished space.
To do this, the initiative aims to undertake cleaning, sanitation, collection of tons of garbage and removal of debris and accumulated waste, which, in addition to providing security to the environment, will value the free use of this public space, as established the planning. At the same time, it will satisfy one of the demands of the locals, who will see the environment and its habitability improved with new public services, pedestrian communication routes for walks and recreation.
Compliance with environmental regulations.
In 2018, the Canary Islands Territorial Planning and Environment Commission (Cotmac) approved the Environmental Assessment and its corresponding ISA, the Environmental Sustainability Report of the Planning presented. All claim deadlines and public information periods were opened and not a single allegation was registered by any public or private body or environmental platforms.
In this sense, it has gone through all the processing. All technical, urban planning and environmental impact reports from the City Council, Cabildo, Canary Islands GovernmentGeneral Directorate of the Coast and the Sea, the Insular Council of Waters of Tenerife (Ciatf) and Cotmac are favorable because the project adapts to the tourism model adopted by Tenerife and the Canary Islands, which has been fleeing overcrowding for some time.
The sustainable tourism model on which Cuna del Alma is based, apart from compliance with environmental regulations, defends the positive change towards responsible and socially committed practices with the preservation of the environment in combination with the development of the local economy. Ultimately, this initiative aims to be something more than a tourist complex and to become a worldwide example of how private initiative can protect the environment and work towards the general well-being of citizens. Cuna del Alma is more than just economy and jobs, it is a new way of looking at tourism and a new way of working hand in hand with nature.
