He Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary IslandsMariano Hernández Zapata, announces that he will reopen the suspension file for the works of the Cuna del Alma tourism project, decreed by the previous regional Executive, once the current one expires. The objective is to “re-collect all the perceptive reports that were requested from the promoters” in order to advance in the solution to the problem of protected species affected by the work and their possible transfer.
The work is paralyzed by resolutions adopted by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Directorate for the Fight against Climate Change and the Environment, “which has already expired.”
The counselor maintains that Cuna del Alma is a tourism project that represents “a significant investment that has to comply with a series of procedures, like the rest of the projects.” In statements to Radio Club TenerifeMariano Hernández explained that, until then, “we will not be able to talk about continuing or not with this investment.”
Hernández Zapata assures that the reopening of the file “is a process that has begun” and in which the legal teams of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy are working, since “they still have a lot to say” . The counselor hopes that the solution will occur “as soon as possible”, which means “in a few months.”
The person responsible for Ecological Transition considers that the company promoting the tourism project to be developed in El Puertito de Adeje “can present” the documentation that his department will collect. It is specifically related to “the identification of where the species are with a certain level of protection and, also, the possibility of translocating these species to other areas where they can also occur.” Regarding other aspects related to the suspensions decreed – the presence of archaeological remains stands out – “the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Directorate of Heritage” of the Government itself will have to clarify them.
On November 10, the General Directorate for the Fight against Climate Change and the Environment of the regional Executive provisionally paralyzed the construction of Cuna del Alma, upon verifying the presence of the sad viper plant (Echium triste), included in the Catalog. Protected Species Canary. On July 27 of this year, the Second Section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Canary Islands (TSJC) prevents the resumption of the work, by rejecting the request for precautionary measures raised by the Adeje City Council against the aforementioned resolution of the aforementioned regional general directorate. “The damages that could be caused by agreeing to the intended suspension could indeed be irreparable,” the order states.
The formal act of laying the first stone of Cuna del Alma took place on May 5, 2022. On December 2 of the same year, the “total suspension” of work occurred due to the discovery of new rock manifestations.
