The volcanological past of Tenerife, the population, the plant species and until the recent fire that originated in Arafo and Candelaria. The crew of the sailing ship Oosterscheldethat follow in the footsteps of charles darwin, the famous English naturalist, received a master class on the Island and its circumstances yesterday. This welcoming ceremony was held at the Museum of Nature and Archeology (MUNA) and was led by the director of the Telesforo Bravo Foundation-Juan Coello, Jaime Coello. This entity is the main collaborator of the project in Tenerife.
The Oosterschelde is an environmental ship that is docked in the port of Santa Cruz, the first of its stops on a 40,000 nautical mile voyage for global conservation. A team of sailors, adventurers and environmental researchers completed the first stage of the journey in twelve days. The ship covered the distance of almost 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 kilometres) between Plymouth, in Great Britain, the starting port of the expedition, and Tenerife.
Specifically, the iDarwin200 initiative It plans to bring small groups of Darwin Leaders to each port of the voyage, “who are being selected from around the world for their outstanding achievements in conservation,” the organization reported. “In total, 200 young people will participate in these activities for two years. The name of the project refers to the 200 Darwin Leaders who will participate,” they pointed out, before specifying that each group of selected young people will work in the assigned port for a week, where they will carry out “an intense conservation leadership program.”
The young people stay on the ship, which they also use as a laboratory and classroom, “just as Charles Darwin did on his voyage.” And now they have the opportunity to develop their actions on the Island, as well as to get to know the territory of Tenerife and the Canary Islands. His first approach was this Monday by the hand of Jaime Coello, who started his conference pointing out the effects of the Sahara desert, the largest in the world, on the climate of the Archipelago. He then studied the geological ages of the Islands, as well as the gravitational landslides and the deposits generated by them.
During his address, Coello told them that The last volcanic eruption in Tenerife, and the first of which there are images, was that of Chinyero. From there, he referred to the 27 places of geological interest that exist in Tenerife. Faced with this, Jaime Coello warned of other less positive data, such as the 850,000 vehicles on the island. Likewise, he put on the table a comparison for reflection: the Galapagos archipelago has 8,000 square kilometers and 25,000 inhabitants, while Canary Islands It has 7,500 square kilometers and 2.2 million inhabitants.
welcome to the museum
The act on Monday was joined by the director of MUNA, Fátima Hernández, and the president of the Association of Friends of this museum, José García Casanova. The director of Darwin200 also intervened, stewart mcpherson, who made a presentation of the project. McPherson, in a press release, had shown his solidarity with Tenerife for the fire: “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the fires forestry in Tenerife. Now more than ever, Tenerife’s wildlife and ecosystems need to be protected. Tenerife is both a geological masterpiece and an ecological treasure.”
Likewise, the director of Darwin200 had stated: «The dramatic landscapes, sculpted by millennia of volcanic activity, are a testimony to the ever-changing processes of the Earth. Its unique climatic zones foster a rich variety of ecosystems, from lush forests to arid deserts, supporting an exceptional range of flora and fauna.” And he added: «We are looking forward to immersing our first group of Darwin Leaders in this unique place and working alongside our local nature conservation partners. to contribute to a bright future for Tenerife, where these species can thrive.”
Among the issues addressed by Jaime Coello were also, given their topicality, the fire that has affected the Island and its damage. In this regard, he highlighted the resistance to fire of the Canary Island pine, but qualified that sometimes it can happen that its regeneration is not such. The director of the Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation followed his journey through the history and natural values of Tenerife, and made a stop at the vegetal landscapes or vegetation floors found in the island’s geography: the cardonal-tabaibal, the thermophilic forest, the monteverde, the pine forest and the summit scrub. An enumeration that in the local ears sounded like childhood school lessons. The red tajinaste, the spicy tajinaste, the alhelí del Teide or the rosalillo de cumbre, among others.
The activity went hand in hand with the objective of the expedition. «Each Darwin Leader will work alongside local conservation experts, studying an animal or plant species or an ecosystem, evaluating its state and how it has changed in the last two centuries. In addition, you will learn about the conservation initiatives currently underway for its protection and you will develop your own ideas on how to best conserve the chosen species or ecosystem in the future”, explained the organizers of this educational and environmental action. “Each leader will make a short film, a photo essay, and a research report on him. All of them will be available to the general public on the Darwin200 website, along with hundreds of free educational resources related to nature and conservation.
“The intention is that each Darwin Leader will be provided with new ideas and skills and gain experience, which will have a positive impact on the work they are already doing in their home countries,” they highlighted. “This unique experience will inspire them in their future careers in nature conservation,” they added.
new crew
The crew was scheduled to be joined on Sunday by five Darwin Leaders from Greece, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, in order to “participate in this intense conservation leadership training program.” They are aware of what has happened on the island since the night of August 15.
«Tenerife has experienced one of the worst forest fires in its history. The fire, which started the same day the sailboat sailed from Plymouth, and has devastated around 13,400 hectares of pine forests, laurel forests and high-mountain vegetation of high environmental value in the Corona Forestal Natural Park (the largest protected natural space in the Canary Islands) and the National Park that surrounds the Teide volcano, the highest peak in Spain”, they lamented from the sailboat, aware as they are of the environment and knowledgeable about current affairs on the Island.
This has also meant a setback in their plans. The scientific coordinator of Darwin200, Rolf Schreuder, regretted what happened: «We have had to adapt to the new situation. The project in El Teide National Park cannot be executed». However, they already have an alternative activity. “Instead, we will focus our attention on the laurel forests of Tenerife, a unique ecosystem, also under pressure from human activities,” said the head of the expedition.
«On the other hand, our endemic bird project acquires a new level of importance, since many of the species of this nature that live in the pine forest have been seriously affected by the fires. We will carry out our investigation in the pine forest mass, which has not suffered the action of the fire”, they pointed out about the plans that they are going to develop on the Island during the next dates.
