The Agriculture Councillor, Livestock, Fishing and Food Sovereignty of the Canary Islands Government, Narvay Quintero, proposes legislative changes, such as amending the Canary Islands Water Law, to address the drought problem affecting Tenerife. He made this proposal during a parliamentary committee, in response to a question from the Nationalist Canarian Group spokesman and Mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, about the planned actions in 2024 to alleviate the irrigation water needs on the island.
Quintero announced that the next Monday a Drought Roundtable is scheduled, which will be chaired by the president of the Canarian Executive, Fernando Clavijo, with the participation of the Canarian Federation of Municipalities (Fecam), the Island Councils, and the main agricultural organizations.
The councillor mentioned that after this initial meeting, a second meeting will be held, in which representatives from the different parliamentary groups of the Chamber will participate.
Regarding Tenerife, the councillor referred to projects such as the modernization and improvement of irrigation systems in the Northeast area, the expansion of reclaimed water flow in Valle de Guerra, irrigation network projects in Güímar, as well as a subsidy plan for irrigation, which is expected to be announced this year for a total of 13 million Euros.
On his part, Linares described the drought situation in Tenerife as “truly serious”, with a scarcity of irrigation water and reservoirs at historically low levels. This situation is further complicated by the effects of last summer’s large forest fire. Therefore, he proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture implement a complementary plan to the one approved last Friday by the Plenary of the Tenerife Island Council, to ensure water supply, prevent leaks in the network, promote portable desalination plants, launch awareness campaigns for responsible water consumption among citizens, or create a Drought Roundtable.
The Coalition Canarian deputy also mentioned the high price of water and the difficulty of access to the resource in the islands. The councillor acknowledged that the problem will not be solved in the short term and appealed to “individual responsibility”. “Tenerife has 45% less water than in previous years,” he concluded.
Linares pointed out that “the countryside does not offer hope to the youth” to address the issue of the lack of generational succession since “the genetic line has been broken”. He stated that the average age of workers in the primary sector exceeds 60 years.
