SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 20th Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment in the Canary Islands (ACPMN) has supported the appeal put forward by the Compensation Board of the ‘Cuna del Alma’ urban development project, which is being advanced in the vicinity of Puertito de Adeje. The sanction file proposed against the company sponsor for the sum of 110,000 euros and the partial suspension of the works has been lifted.
This revelation was made this Tuesday by over twenty environmental groups in a collective statement. They announced that they will pursue legal action – a contentious administrative appeal may be lodged against the resolution before the Administrative Litigation Court.
In this context, they highlight that the Government acknowledges “all” the arguments presented against the project by the environmental associations from the outset of the protests. However, through the Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment, it declares its “incompetence” in this matter and confers to the Adeje City Council “the responsibility of enforcing the law”. They describe the City Council as “completely driven by urban speculation, which also raises serious doubts about its ability to guarantee the protection of the environment in the area.”
The environmentalists assert that, apart from the lifting of the stoppages, the resolution “puts the project on hold”. Although ‘Cuna del Alma’ must comply with the law, “the future of the works is determined by the Environmental Body of Adeje, chaired by Rosendo López López until his resignation a few months ago when it was revealed that he held the position of director in a company conducting technical studies for Cuna del Alma, a company with a long history of doubts regarding their environmental studies throughout the Canary Islands.”
They also note that the lifting of the stoppage is based on the fact that the Adeje City Council granted the project license, which, as per the resolution, limits the intervention capacity of the Canarian Agency.
However, environmentalists question this rationale for its “lack of coherence, particularly in light of the irregularities and environmental damage documented during the project’s development, to which the City Council never responded.”
In their view, the lifting of the stoppage by the Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment poses a “serious threat” to environmental justice in the Canary Islands and “sends a concerning message about the lack of intent to enforce the law and protect the environment in the region”.
They also suggest that “the inconsistency in the arguments presented by the Canarian Agency raises doubts about the integrity of its actions and raises serious concerns about the future of environmental protection in our islands.”
Simultaneously, they caution that this resolution “could establish a dangerous precedent that allows for impunity in projects in similar situations.”
