José Miguel Ruano, second vice president of the Tenerife Island Council, as well as insular councilor for Presidency, Administration and Public Service, Territorial Planning and Historical Heritage, defended last Thursday afternoon in the Canaries Parliament, within the framework of the General Council of Island Councils, that the regional Government transfer to the insular corporation the powers over the means of the Teide National Park. Up to now, the attributions are delegated by the Autonomous Community.
The fundamental reason stated by Ruano is to improve security, surveillance, and control of the nearly 190 square kilometers visited each year by four million tourists, where there are significant deficiencies, despite it being the main protected natural area in the Archipelago.
This is evidenced by the numerous incidents related to accessing prohibited areas that must be preserved especially due to their fragility, or the countless inappropriate uses. All this, while the new Management and Use Master Plan (PRUG) continues to gather dust in some drawer in the area of Ecological Transition after the public exposure process and allegations from last year.
José Miguel Ruano, alongside the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife / E.D.
But let’s return to the present. The requested normative change would allow, for example, the mobility of personnel from other protected areas in Tenerife because “the current provision of the Park is insufficient,” Ruano argued. The vice president also emphasized that the Tenerife Island Council is the only one managing a national park and the purpose is to “work with the Government for the delegation of means to become a transfer” and thus “ensure better protection of the territory.”
No legal obstacle
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Competence over national parks is regional, but José Miguel Ruano, a legal expert, considered that “there would be no legal obstacle” for it to be transferred to the Council, as they are “recognised as institutions at the community level” in the Statute of Autonomy of the Canaries. Precisely, Ruano is one of the “fathers” of the reform of that legal framework by the Organic Law 1/2018, of November 5. José Miguel Ruano made these considerations on the occasion of presenting to the General Council of Island Councils in the Canaries Parliament the report on the performance and effectiveness of the services transferred and delegated by the Autonomous Community for the year 2022. In that year, the Tenerife council contributed €238 million of its own funds to carry out these delegated powers and received 48% of the total as financing.
