“Green has never been on the flag, but it always remains in our hearts and will surely sprout again in the mountains.” The phrase is from Pedro Afonso, president of the Confederation of Businessmen (CEOE) on the Island, and summarizes the spirit of the initiative of the public-private alliance Tenerife Reborn that drives the Council Next to the Foresta Foundation for 48 months to restore the forests affected by the fire that still plagues the mountains two months after starting, the August 15thin the rural area of Arafo, The initiative aims to channel the contributions of people and companies in order to promote the environmental restoration of natural spaces, but also promote awareness campaigns so that something like this never happens again, neither here nor on any other Island. The project has the support of Innovaris, the aforementioned CEOE-Tenerife, the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs, Inco-LAB Smart Island Cluster and the Public Radio Television of Canary Islands.
‘Tenerife Reborn which will have an initial validity of 48 months; That is, four years, it will try to channel all the aid from private individuals and legal entities that have declared their intention to participate in the restoration of the mountains of Tenerife affected by the fire that originated in Arafo and Candelaria or who intend to do so. throughout the duration of the project.
The signing of the agreement was attended by the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila; the director of Foresta, Alicia Rodríguez; the director of Innovaris SL, Alexis Robles; the vice president of the Inco-LAB Cluster Smart Island Innovative Multisectoral Business Association, Sonia García; the vice president of the Canarian Confederation of Businessmen (CCE), José Cristóbal García; the president of the Provincial Confederation of Businessmen of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (CEOE-Tenerife), Pedro Alfonso; and the sole administrator of Public Television and Radio of the Canary Islands, Francisco Moreno.
Regional dimension
Rosa Dávila indicated that “it is a day of gratitude for all those who wanted to show their solidarity with the fire. Thanks to Tenerife Renace and the entities that have promoted it, we will be able to channel them to face this natural disaster». He valued the work of the Natural Environment area, represented by the counselor, Blanca Pérez, and the insular director, Pedro Millán. He summarized: “This is a project that has a regional dimension because during the fire we felt the encouragement and support of all the islands.” The director of the Foresta Foundation, Alicia Rodríguez, for her part, appreciates the trust to lead the execution of the planning of the reforestation work. She stressed: «We are committed to making our knowledge and experience available to the various collaborating entities. The objective is to carry out professional work that facilitates the recovery of the affected areas. She indicated that starting today (yesterday) contributions can be made through Bizum 08273 and that in the coming days a dissemination campaign for the project will begin.
Social responsability
Alexis Robles pointed out that the initiative is framed “within the projects of Corporate social responsibility that Innovaris develops and we intend to integrate as many actors as possible. He added: “We want to raise awareness among the population so that, as far as possible, these fires don’t happen again.” Sonia García explained that the Inco-LAB Smart Island Cluster “has been working to develop an intelligent model for the management of the Island and that not only concerns tourism but also nature, which is an important part. Furthermore, it is a collaborative issue in which different entities and Canarian society participate, which fits perfectly with our spirit.
The vice president of the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs (CCE), José Cristóbal García, indicated that “when the fire goes out, it seems that it is over and it is not like that. We must recover the forest and many people and companies that want to collaborate in that aspect. From now on we have to do more than talk.” Meanwhile, Pedro Alfonso, head of CEOE-Tenerife, thanked the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs for their involvement and pointed out that “there is a firm commitment to sustainability and the recovery of nature. We are committed to the social and economic recovery of the Island, but also to environmental recovery and we want contribute our grain of sand. Our way of managing is being close to reality, kilometer zero and close to the needs of our land. For his part, Francisco Moreno made a play on words by pointing out that “Canarian Television has gone from filming the tragedy of the fire to signing this agreement to create nature. Our vocation is public service and that is why we support this initiative. He exemplified in the RTVC editor Chaxiraxi Herrera, present in the Noble Hall of the Cabildo, the tireless work for days, weeks and months to report on what was happening in the mountains of the Island.
Background in Gran Canaria
The idea already had a successful precedent in Gran Canaria following the summit forest fire in 2019. For more than 20 days the fire devastated 9,800 hectares – in Tenerife it was 14,000 and it has been more than two months since the beginning. In this case it They raised 400,000 euros. As there, a team of independent auditors will guarantee that the investment goes to the objective for which it is requested. In addition, it relieves the saturated work of island technicians from having to prepare the specifications for new agreements or agreements referring to the private sphere, which accelerates the deadlines for their implementation.
Share Network
Agreement Tenerife Reborn establishes a network of actions to restore the forests, facilitate citizen participation and generate technical knowledge about the fire and learning about restoration techniques in ecosystems damaged by this type of catastrophes. The patronage project will be in charge of seeking private funds for the execution of a fundraising campaign. The initiative arises from the numerous requests for collaboration from Canarian society and the business sector towards the Cabildo of Tenerife, which has sought a way to take advantage of this support and put it into the restoration of the affected mountains. The proposal not only contemplates a fundraising campaign, but also puts together a methodical plan that provides support, transparency, traceability and trust to a project of general interest for Tenerife.
Inter-institutional alliance
Foresta treasures its regional and non-profit character, as well as 25 years of experience in the forestry and environmental sector. The Cabildo of Tenerife will be in charge, among other issues, of directing the technical project and will analyze and define the work areas and work units to be carried out, informing Foresta for its execution. It will provide technical support for the development and monitoring of the work and will facilitate citizen participation. Likewise, it will support with its own material and human resources specific actions that are necessary for the execution of the tasks to be undertaken. Likewise, it will provide, to the extent of its possibilities, specimens of native plants produced in the island nurseries that can be used in restoration and reforestation work.
Tasks to develop
Foresta will carry out the field work with its crews in accordance with the criteria and guidelines provided by the Cabildo of Tenerife and, where appropriate, may hire qualified local personnel to form the field work crews. Likewise, it will be in charge of carrying out the necessary administrative procedures related to donations and will audit the economic data (funds used) of the project and make them public on a website associated with Foresta’s (foundationforesta.org). Innovaris, a consulting entity with extensive experience in dealing with the business sector and with Public administrations of the island, will be the link between the Cabildo and Foresta to provide solutions that respond to the business implications of the project, among which is the participation of Canaudit, SL, a company that will carry out the control of the project through of periodic audits to give transparency to the use of funds and justify them.
CEOE-Tenerife and the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs will promote and support business involvement in the project. Inco-LAB Smart Island Cluster will be in charge of identifying the innovative lines of work and technological solutions that can be applied in the different phases of the project. For its part, the Public Television and Radio of the Canary Islands will disseminate the initiatives adopted for the execution of the project. initiative Finally, a monitoring commission made up of representatives of each of the signatory institutions will be created in order to ensure compliance with the agreement. Next to Tenerife Reborn The Cabildo of Tenerife will invest 29 million euros between 2024 and 2026 for the recovery of Monteverde, actions against the risk of falling trees and landslides or risk of erosion.