The Canary Islands Government The processing of a new Governing Plan for Use and Management (PRUG) of the Teide National Parka document that includes measures such as access restrictions that have sparked debate on the island about this type of natural space. But Tenerife is not the only place where care for the environment is intended to be balanced with the possibility of enjoying this type of area, where visitors number in the millions.
From quotas of access to beaches to limitations on the passage of vehicles and shuttle buses for visitors to trails, forests and lakes and environmental informants are some of the measures deployed in Spain to shield itself against overcrowding and guarantee sustainable tourism.
Before images, once again this summer, with queues of mountaineers on peaks like K2 or Everestthe debate has resurfaced, not only about the human risk of the overcrowding of tourism in dangerous places, but also about its threat to natural habitats that are already severely damaged and eroded.
The Galician beach of Las Catedrales, a natural monument of sand and rocks sculpted by the sea, as well as the Doñana nature reservein Andalusia, or the Teide volcano, in Tenerife, are just some of the many enclaves in Spain with access limitations to make public use compatible with its preservation.
Since high mountains to lush forests, volcanoes or paradisiacal beachesconvert to Spain in a privileged orographic showcase, rich in flora and fauna, with varied climates, both on the peninsula and on the islands, with sixteen national parks and many others of a regional, European and local nature.
Natural environments, due to their enormous ecological value, must be preserved against mass tourism that can degrade them, with regulations that allow their citizen enjoyment although with guarantees of conservation, the spokeswoman for Ecologists in Action Pau Monasterio explains to Efe.
In the last twenty years, tourism in National Parks has grown by 77%, with about 16 million annual visitors, according to a report by the Eco-union association, which cites transport or social networks that popularize remote environments as causes; To this is added the impact of the coronavirus, which has turned many natural areas into a refuge, in front of the city.
By communities, public use restrictions are very diverse; Asturias maintains the special transport plan to the Lakes of Covadonga -the most visited enclave of the busy Picos de Europa National Park- and in times of greatest affluence it can only be accessed by bus or taxi with a license in Cangas de Onís.
In Galicia, the beach of the Cathedrals, in Ribadeo (Lugo), requires entry that is reserved free onlineand on the Biscayan coast, access to the islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe has been reopened to the public, with a limit of almost 1,500 people per day.
Canary Islands
In the Canary archipelago, with some 15 million tourists a yearthe Teide National Park, one of the busiest in Spain, has a quota of 200 daily visits, and also Timanfaya, in the mountains of fire in Lanzarote, where access is paid, while Garajonay, with Laurisilva forests of La Gomera, the number of vehicles to Las Mimbreras, in El Cedro, is limited.
Also, in Gran Canariaon Maspalomas beach, protected as a nature reserve, non-accessible spaces have been delimited, and in Fuerteventura there are quotas on Lobos, an uninhabited volcanic islet in front of the Corralejo dunes.
In the Balearic Islands, with 50% of posidonia meadows from Spain in its waters, the limitations have been extended and also the passage to the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of Cabrera requires permission to navigate and those who visit the main island of the archipelago cannot leave the indicated paths.
This summer there are also environmental informants on the beaches of the Balearic Islandscontracted by the Government, to spread among bathers the values of the dune systems in protected areas.
More restrictions
On the Peninsula, the Doñana National Park, a mosaic of ecosystems in Andalusia, has restricted access to the interior for years, with a maximum of 886 people per day, from the itinerary through El Acebuche and El Rocío -both from Huelva- and along the river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Cadiz.
There have been restrictions in Aragon for years in the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Parkand in Extremadura, access to the natural monuments of Cueva Castañar (Cáceres) and Cueva Fuentes de León (Badajoz), whose dimensions are very small, is limited.
In Murcia the Private motorized vehicles are restricted from entering the Calblanque Regional ParkMonte de las Cenizas and Peña del Águila, and in the community of Madrid bathing is only allowed in natural areas in Los Villares, the San Juan reservoir, Alberche beach and Las Presillas (Rascafría).
Until 2016 it was also possible in La Charca Verde, in La Pedriza -one of the most visited places in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park- where vehicles and parking are restricted.
In Cuenca, it is being studied to limit visits to the natural monument Chorreras del Cabriel to 400a place in the Biosphere Reserve, where this summer eleven bathers have been rescued due to falls.
Likewise, in Navarra, access to the source of the river Urederra, in the Urbasa Park, is reserved for a maximum of 500 visits; in the reservoirs of Leurza and the Orgi forest there is a quota of cars.
In the Valencian Community, the Sierra de Irta Natural Park, rmarine reserve of fishing interest (Castellón), regulates the access of motor vehicles in summer; and in Alicante, in spaces such as the red itinerary of the Peñón de Ifach (Calpe), there is a quota of visitors and also on the cliffs of Cabo de San Antonio, within the protected area of the Montgó Natural Park.
