The Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment (ACPMN) has upheld the appeal filed by the Compensation Board of the urban development project ‘Cuna del Alma’, located near Puertito de Adeje, and has closed the sanction file against the promoting company, amounting to 110,000 euros, lifting the partial suspension of the works.
This was revealed on Tuesday by more than twenty environmental groups in a joint statement, announcing that they will pursue legal actions – a contentious-administrative appeal can be lodged against the resolution.
In this regard, they point out that the Government acknowledges “all” the arguments presented against the project by the environmental associations since the beginning of the protests. However, through the Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment, it declares its “incompetence” in this matter and leaves in the hands of the Adeje City Council “the responsibility to enforce the law“, a Council “completely blinded by urban speculation, which also raises serious doubts about its ability to ensure environmental protection in the area”.
The environmentalists affirm that the resolution, except for lifting the suspensions, “leaves the project in suspense” because although Cuna del Alma will have to comply with the Law regardless, “the continuity of the works is being left in the hands of the Environmental Body of Adeje, presided over by Rosendo López López until his resignation a few months ago when it was revealed that he chaired the public body at the same time as being the director of a company carrying out technical studies for Cuna del Alma, a company with a long history of doubts about its environmental studies throughout Canarias“.
They also point out that the lifting of the suspension is based on the fact that the Adeje City Council granted the project license, which, according to the resolution, limits the ability of the Canarian Agency to intervene.
However, the environmentalists question this reasoning for its “lack of coherence, especially in view of the documented irregularities and environmental damage during the project’s development, which the City Council never acted upon.”
In their opinion, the lifting of the suspension by the Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment is a “serious threat” to environmental justice in the Canary Islands and “sends a concerning message about the lack of willingness to enforce the law and protect the environment in the region.”
They also state that “the contradiction in the arguments presented by the Canarian Agency raises doubts about the integrity of its actions and poses serious concerns about the future of environmental protection in our islands.”
At the same time, they warn that this resolution “could set a dangerous precedent that allows impunity in projects in a similar situation.”
