SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 28 Aug. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila, announced on Wednesday the initiation of a restoration programme for the forest crown and Teide National Park, with a financial allocation of 11 million euros and an execution period of three years, extending until the end of 2026.
This announcement was made during a press conference detailing the agreements reached by the Government Council, wherein it was emphasised that the repercussions of climate change as well as last summer’s fire will be addressed.
Dávila stated that actions will include “selective felling” in hard-to-reach areas, “thinning” of Canary Island pine stands, repopulation of indigenous species and measures aimed at averting soil and slope erosion.
“The aim is to restore what has been lost and also to implement measures against potential future threats, hence the preventive actions,” she underlined, noting that the work will be managed by the public entity Gesplan, which complements the emergency initiatives already in progress.
She also mentioned that another agreement signed with Gesplan will focus on repopulating the cedar population that had diminished in the Teide area due to logging conducted over 50 years ago, as well as the impacts of climate change, a species considered to have “very high ecological value.”
Specifically, a budget of 1.1 million euros is allocated for implementation until 2026.
In the realm of Municipal Cooperation and Housing, the provision of grants to municipalities with fewer than 20,000 residents was approved for the execution of the Insular Activa Suelo Programme.
In total, 1,400,750 euros have been earmarked for 188 houses located in Los Silos, El Sauzal, El Rosario, La Victoria de Acentejo, Buenavista del Norte and Santiago del Teide.
Regarding infrastructure, the tender for surface rehabilitation works of the TF-454 island road in Santiago del Teide was authorised, with a value of 2.3 million euros and an expected completion within six months.
This road connects the urban areas of Tamaimo and Los Gigantes and spans 6.6 kilometres.
In the domain of Culture, approval was granted for an extraordinary free concert by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra on 6 September 2024, as part of the Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna.
In the sector of Natural Environment, Sustainability, and Safety and Emergencies, the construction works for the Los Rodeos recycling facility were awarded to Obras Desarrollos y Asfaltos SL for an amount of 723,320 euros and an estimated completion period of eight months.
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This initiative is financed through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which is backed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU fund.
Under the scope of Equality and Diversity, the Governing Council awarded the contract for the training, monitoring, and evaluation of the activities outlined in the Enrédate Sin Machismo Project to Bencomia Educación Ambiental SL Unipersonal for 284,780.50 euros.
In relation to the Primary Sector, a funding of 2,456,301 euros was approved for the installation of a floating photovoltaic facility at the Valle San Lorenzo reservoir and for the public company Tragsa to rehabilitate the chestnut agrosystem affected by the 2023 fire for an amount of 1,667,136.92 euros.
The tender for enhancement and paving works for the La Caleta-Parque La Gomera agricultural road in Los Silos was also approved, at a cost of 951,071 euros and a completion timeframe of 12 months.
