The municipality of Adeje, in southern Tenerife, will have a new and spectacular green space in less than a year, covering over 35,000 square metres, at the main entrance to the municipality, in the area of El Galeón. This was announced on Saturday by the Adeje Town Hall in a statement.
This is a project led by the mayor, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and it is part of the commitment made by the Town Hall when it signed the European Covenant of Mayors for Climate or when it approved the Action Plan for Climate and Sustainable Energy (PACES) in 2020.
Sustainability
In these documents, Adeje accepted various commitments such as improving energy efficiency, increasing the production of renewable energies, enhancing the management of urban solid waste, or reducing 40% of the CO2 emissions produced by the municipality before the end of 2030.
“Our commitment to reducing the municipality’s carbon footprint is absolute,” asserts the Adeje mayor, who adds: “We have been working for years, and all the projects demonstrate this,” he says regarding the mayor of Adeje. He adds that “this large green area we want at the entrance to Adeje, alongside the motorway, is one more step in the path and commitment to a sustainable municipality that respects its environment.”
Rodríguez Fraga also announces that this project has several phases and that when completed, it will cover 70,000 square metres and include walkable areas and other elements for public use.
This new green area is linked to offsetting the municipality’s carbon footprint and reducing pollutant emissions, as it is expected that its forest mass will absorb around 20 tonnes of CO2, the southern Council anticipates.
Initial Investment
There will be an initial investment of almost €800,000 to plant what is known as thermophilic forest, which constitutes a special type of vegetation characterised by its intermediate position between coastal shrub communities (cardonal-tabaibal) and large montane forests (laurisilva, fayal-brezal and pine forests).
Specifically, the forest will consist of more than 29 indigenous and alien species. The latter are species that, originating from other parts of the planet, are acclimatised to the island of Tenerife and help to enhance the natural environment in which they are introduced.
Other objectives of this space also include recovering a completely degraded area, increasing shaded and cool spots in the municipality, and enhancing the landscape environment both from the Southern motorway and the entrance to the municipality.
It is also intended that this planting contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Another characteristic that will help eliminate emissions is the use of renewable energies, treated water from the treatment plant and compost generated from another municipal project, specifically the Circular Tourism Communities, which uses the organic waste from hotels to generate compost.
Rodríguez Fraga also announced that these types of projects will not be limited to those already underway, as the Adeje Town Hall intends “to plan and develop new green spaces of this kind in other areas of the municipality.”
Another phase of this project has allowed other 95 kW of photovoltaic energy to enable the residents’ community of Lagos de Miraverde, with 72 apartments and common areas, to be exclusively powered by renewables.
Another example is the well-known Bosque de Las Nieves, which comprises another 30,000 square metres of forest that produces food, jobs for people in exclusion, absorbs 18 tonnes of CO2, produces 12 tonnes of oxygen, and provides another 13 tonnes of organic matter for other green areas of the municipality.
Recently, the Desalination Station of La Caleta was inaugurated in the area, along with the WAVE innovation centre (Water Added Value European Center), an initiative by Aqualia-Entemanser sponsored by the Adeje Town Hall, which has become a European reference, according to the Town Hall’s statement, in the development of research into new desalination methods, brine valorisation to recover resources such as critical raw materials, and the use of renewable energies as a step towards sustainable desalination that extracts the true value of seawater.
In addition to these projects, there is also Adae< a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="ft-link ft-link--decoration" href="https://www.eldia.es/economia/2021/12/16/tenerife-situa-vanguardia-pais-destino-60725744.html">Smart Tourist Destination or Canary Green, aimed at optimising natural resources and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of all public services such as the use of water or electricity.
