SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The vice president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, announced this Friday, together with the Minister of Ecological Transition, Mariano Hernández, that the archipelago will have a Forest Recovery Plan for the areas that were affected by the forest fires this summer.
The Forest Recovery Plan is a transversal initiative that involves several areas of the Government of the Canary Islands such as Ecological Transition or Economy and Employment and has various actions among which stand out a post-fire environmental restoration program, implementation and improvement of the EIRIF units, Forest Law for the Canary Islands, forest protection and management measures against climate changes of the FEDER 2021-2027 Operational Program of the Canary Islands, Review and modification of the Decree of Prevention and Extinction of forest fires of the Canary Islands, an Extraordinary Employment Plan and the ‘Campaign Consume’ in municipalities affected by the Tenerife fire.
Manuel Domínguez explained that the Extraordinary Employment Plan that will be developed in Tenerife will be endowed with 3 million euros to support the necessary restoration work.
“It includes aspects such as prevention work in extinguishing forest fires, field work on the affected areas, cleaning of burned vegetation, construction of soil retention systems that prevent runoff, recovery of the affected masses and specific tasks of sensitization and awareness,” he indicated.
In parallel to this initiative, the Ministry of Economy will activate the ‘Consume in the Municipalities Affected by the Fire’ campaign, which has a budget of 600,000 euros and will be managed by the Federation of Urban Areas of the Canary Islands (FAUCA).
“This project is based on the granting of a direct subsidy to this organization to encourage consumption in businesses in the twelve municipalities affected by the fire, helping economic recovery and supporting both companies and customers. We will strengthen, through these consumer bonuses, the local hospitality industry, local commerce and the business community in the affected areas,” explained Domínguez.
BUDGET READJUSTMENTS
Hernández Zapata, for his part, revealed that the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy has made readjustments in its 2023 budget to release 3.5 million and allocate them to the consolidation, restoration of the land and the recovery of biodiversity in the affected areas. .
“In addition, we have also committed another 900,000 euros for the 2024 financial year for the same purpose,” he noted.
Likewise, he added, “we have requested from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge the special declaration for the forestry and environmental restoration of the areas most seriously affected by the forest fires, estimating its investment at 1.8 million euros, which will represent a total of 6.2 million euros between this year and next”.
Regarding the implementation and improvement of the units of the Intervention and Reinforcement Teams in Forest Fires (EIRIF), Hernández Zapata indicated that progress will be made “in the establishment of new EIRIF bases, as well as the reinforcement with more means to the already existing in La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro”.
This project to expand and improve the bases, indicated the counselor, “would mean the permanent presence of these units specialized in fighting fires on all the islands with forest presence, which would grow from the current 12 units to 20 “.
FOREST LAW
Likewise, the counselor argued that, in the near future, specialists and technicians from the autonomous administration and the island councils will be summoned to a work table in which the preparation of the preliminary draft of the Canary Islands Forest Law will begin. “so that the islands have a pioneering document on this matter during this same legislature, since Law 43/2003, of November 21, on Forests is a national norm that leaves many aspects to be developed by the autonomous communities” .
In his opinion, “The Canary Islands are one of the few that have not yet developed this regulation and, for that reason, it is necessary to have a law that includes the specificities of our mountains in terms of their multifunctionality and the uniqueness of the different administrations.” competent in the matter”.
The Department of Ecological Transition will also implement the Forest Protection and Management Measures against Climate Change contemplated in the FEDER 2021-2027 Operational Program for the Canary Islands.
“This line of FEDER funds will have, in the year 2024, a budget of 3 million euros which, in turn, will be assigned to the different councils for the execution of the Canary Islands Forest Plan,” said Hernández Zapata.
The counselor also announced a review and modification of the Decree of Prevention and Extinction of Forest Fires of the Canary Islands, “as it is a document that dates back to 2001 and needs to be adjusted to the current reality, as well as the regulation that the regulation of forest fires must have.” urban-forestry and agricultural-forestry interface zones, the High Fire Risk Zones (ZARI) and territorial preventive planning”.
