The City Council of Arona, through the Environment Department, has proceeded to clean and refurbish an area of Malpaís de Rasca, affected by vandalism and lack of respect for this valuable natural space with the abandonment of waste and remains of a boat.
Personnel from the public company responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the Arona coastline carried out the work of collecting the waste, the remains of a boat that ran aground on the coast, located in an area that is difficult to access for vehicles. Due to the great weight and size of part of the hull, it could not be removed, and alternatives to move it are being studied.
It is an area outside the protected area of the Rasca Special Nature Reserve, dependent on the Cabildo de Tenerife, but close to it and with great ecological, cultural and ethnographic value. That is why, in order to preserve it from this type of acts of vandalism, the Arona City Council has requested on several occasions the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo de Tenerife to extend the Special Nature Reserve, so that it increases from the 315 hectares current to 475, an increase of 50%.
With this proposal, raised by the town hall since June 2018, it is intended to preserve this Special Nature Reserve from urban pressure or any other threat derived from human action, such as the traffic of off-road vehicles, the dumping of waste or the looting of remains archaeological. This territory was declared a protected area in 1987 and is part of the Natura network, as it was considered a Site of Community Importance (SCI) in 2001.
The mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, explained that the expansion of the protection zone “is key if we want to preserve a key area for Arona and for the whole of the Canary Islands from urban pressure and this type of vandalism, with a high environmental value and from the perspective of historical heritage”.
For his part, the Councilor for the Environment, Leopoldo Díaz Oda, emphasized “continuing the educational work on waste and making the population aware of the importance of caring for and respecting our natural environment.”
