Five environmental forest agents to monitor and control four million visitors each year –3.7 on average in the period 1996-2021–. It’s the reality of Teide National Park, the busiest in Europe. These professionals are the responsible for monitoring 19,000 hectaresthe equivalent of as many fields of soccer. They request to increase the staff and denounce deficiencies in communications in many points of the protected natural area,
Huge, scattered, with a new regulation pending approval and a large influx of people. The ideal scenario for attacks that have multiplied in the last three years. Entry to trails prohibited by motorcycle or bicycle; bonfires and chops; presence of horses; football games impromptu or shooting commercials where you can’t and shouldn’t. Of everything.
Eduardo González is the spokesperson for the Association of Forest Agents and the Environment of Canary Islands (afmacan). Provide some data: “There are five –he does not work in the Park–, to regulate more than a million vehicles, 3,000 daily, with 12,000 visitors; manifestly insufficient”. This was reflected by the group in its allegations to the new Master Plan for Use and Management, the PRUG, during the public exhibition. “Work continues on it and responding to the contributions of individuals and groups,” say sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Afmacan raised in these allegations that the PRUG must include control and surveillance “carried out by official personnel with the status of agents of the authority – environmental agents – to guarantee the custody and protection of natural elements, ecological processes, flora, fauna, structures geological, archaeological sites and all those other values of the Teide National Park».
González does not want to enter into a question of competences but the transfers in the management of this natural space from the State to the Autonomous Community and from this to the Cabildo de Tenerife (January 1, 2016) has left them in a certain “administrative limbo”. Sentence: “The question is that there is a lack of agents.”
RPT question. The Ministry of Ecological Transition clarifies that “security management depends on the Cabildo, but the agents in the Park of the List of Jobs (RPT) of the Government of the Canary Islands». The sources from the area headed by José Antonio Valbuena add that “they have focused first the efforts in the regularization and consolidation of the agents and work is already underway to expand the forces in all natural spaces, although national parks are a priority. “This area – they explain – has been dedicated to strengthening existing jobs but in the future modification of the RPT, since this possibility is enabled, the number of these agents will be increased”.
The carrying capacity of the National Park begins to be saturated by the large number of visitors
Eduardo González emphasizes that «The overcrowding on Teide has been increasing since, above all, the covid-19 pandemic and at specific moments such as snowfall. People want leisure and seek the public use of nature. He sees it as logical, but “everyone cannot go at the same time because that is a risk to environmental conservation. You have to regulate.” He adds: “We have 48% of the surface protected, but on a weekend there can be only one agent from Candelaria to Santiago del Teide. Or on Sunday afternoon, a fellow in the National Park ».
We have requested several times that environmental agents be integrated into 112
Calculate the ratio of environmental agents needed on Teide: «A minimum of fifteen just with the surface, without the exact calculation of the visitor load. But twenty would be better. It is essential to be able to cover sick leave or vacations, factors that further complicate the work of the five current agents. In 190 square kilometers “it is impossible to reach everything, but even less without adequate human and material resources.”
Another request from Afmacan is to “do the services as a couple and not alone as is the case now on many occasions. For our own safety.” They hold the status of agents of the authority and their functions, among others such as collaborating in emergencies, are those of, he explains, “special administrative police in generic environmental and judicial matters”; that is, they can penalize administrative offenses and environmental crimes.
What is not that is the responsibility of the State Security Forces and Corps. The troops of the Civil Guard, both from Traffic and from the Nature Protection Service (Seprona), are the ones that use the most traffic in the National Park. Without forgetting the firefighters, the Red Cross or rescue personnel from the Government of the Canary Islands and the agents of the neighboring town halls. Also the sworn security guards hired “who do their job,” González values, “but they are not agents of the authority.”
The association of agents calculates that <> are necessary in the Park
Also the workers of the Cabildo en Carreteras or Gesplan, hired for information work or improvement of trails. The Island Councilor for Natural Environment Management and Security, Isabel García, assures that work to expand the staff of environmental agents of the Corporation.
Eduardo González, with twenty years in the profession, states that “we must influence educational work and raise awareness about our environment.” He claims: «The communications within the National Park have become obsolete and the signal from the stations does not arrive as it should to warn of emergencies. There is no mobile phone coverage and it needs to be improved.”
An authoritative opinion. José María Pérez Baso has been a mountain and canyoning guide at the specialized company Patea Tus Montes for 25 years. An authoritative opinion. He understands that “The carrying capacity of the National Park begins to become saturated due to the massive presence of visitors”. He considers that “many have knowledge and others do not distinguish a National Park from a thematic one. Basically the tourists. He gives an example: “Flying a drone is prohibited here and in Japan, but they do it with the risk it poses to the birdlife.” He believes that “we cannot have a guard in every corner” and advocates “a powerful information campaign for tourism.” Sentence: “Instagran and selfies have done a lot of damage.” He warns that “In places like Lanzarote people are starting to talk about tourismophobia and that is very dangerous.” He is in favor of regulation in some environments, but not in others, “because you can’t put doors on the mountain; We all have the right to enjoy it.” A complicated balance that requires “consensus”. In addition, he condemns the attack suffered by a colleague last February.
The critical voice. Jaime Coello, from the Telesforo Bravo-Juan Coello Foundation and the Pasa sin huella collective, who usually denounce attacks on the environment, reflects: «The Park has a minimal staff of environmental agents who cannot effectively attend to their task. In addition, despite repeated requests, they are not integrated into 112 ». He considers that «Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands is responsible for not taking the necessary places. It is the competent administration because what occurred in its day was a delegation of management to the Cabildo, not a transfer.
The debate is in the difficult balance between enjoying public leisure spaces and being able to preserve them
He stresses that “both administrations allow a very dangerous situation to occur in the island’s natural spaces: that of the most absolute impunity.” The latest example of “the situation of chaos” in the Teide National Park is, in the words of Coello, “the authorization, it is not known from whom and without prior notice, for four simultaneous filming”. This has led to “the total occupation of the most important parking areas, which makes it necessary to park in unauthorized places, thus damaging flora and fauna.” On the other hand, private security guards “perform functions without having powers, such as regulating traffic.” He concludes: “If the new PRUG were approved, since the current one is 21 years old and has expired, this would not happen because it prohibits it.” He considers the Ecological Transition counselor “responsible” “who keeps the processing of the new document blocked, for reasons that he does not want to clarify.”
