The Ministry of Tourism and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islandsthrough the Canary Islands Employment Service (SCE), grants a subsidy of 2,012,984 euros to the Tenerife Council to hire 63 unemployed people who will work on the recovery of the areas affected by the forest fire that hit the Island last summer.
The Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de Lion, explains in a statement that in these hirings, priority will be given to those groups that have greater difficulties in finding a job, such as the long-term unemployed, those over 45 years of age, women and people with disabilities. Among the profiles to be hired, 38 workers are required (30 forestry workers and eight construction workers); two administrative assistants; a biologist; a forestry engineer or agronomist; four foremen specialized in Forestry and Natural Environment Management; nine forestry or agricultural group leaders; two construction group leaders and six technical assistants (chainsaw operators).
Workers will carry out different recovery tasks in the twelve municipalities affected by the forest fire: Los Realejos, La Orotava, Santa Úrsula, La Victoria, La Matanza, El Sauzal, Tacoronte, El Rosario, Candelaria, Arafo, Güímar and Fasnia.
The work includes the restoration of forest infrastructure – mainly trails – in the areas of the Corona Forestal Natural Park, the Las Lagunetas Protected Landscape and the Siete Lomas Protected Landscape.
Defense work against soil erosion will also be carried out, as well as restoration and cleaning of the vegetation affected by the flames. In addition to the procurement costs, the ETS subsidy will be used to cover other expenses, such as machinery, vehicles or equipment. The project must be completed before December 30, 2024.
The insular Corporation, for its part, also undertakes, in this case with its own funds, different tasks related to the recovery after the forest fire that began on August 15 in the Arafo and Candelaria mountains. Notable among them is the approval of the commission to the public company Gesplan to undertake the service of adapting the medians to the prevention of fires and the improvement of natural and agricultural biodiversity in the affected area. The budget is 2,905,000 euros and the execution period: three years.
Seventeen tasks
The purpose of the proposed assignment includes 17 services to be developed. Among the most important is to involve city councils and neighbors residing in the area of greatest potential risk in the midlands to adopt self-protection measures against forest fires. It would be through information on safety conditions, advice on actions and treatments, as well as support straight with crews and tools, focused on the surroundings of homes and agricultural areas with their transition spaces to the mountains.
The project also raises the need to bring together and train the town councils involved. First, through the explanation and then promoting the preparation of activities for ecological restoration groups. It includes the proposal to coordinate the training of citizens and non-profit entities. We will also proceed to sociologically assess, Through the development of a survey, the problems of each farm to diagnose the type of support it needs, in addition to the involvement and help of citizens.
One aspect to be resolved is training and support for the management of agricultural and garden waste. From shredding, chipping and composting to establishing a controlled burning protocol. Efforts will also be made to boost ecological restoration and create municipal personnel to act as technical support in these tasks. The roadmap determines that the ideal thing would be to provide each municipality in the future with a work team specialized in prevention and ecological restoration.
