Tension continues to mount in Puertito de Adeje. Ecologists and scientists have been visiting this enclave daily from the south of Tenerife for a week now, demanding a halt to the tourism mega-project known as Cuna del Alma. On Tuesday, an activist reported on social media an altercation with one of the workers. Meanwhile, during the Adeje City Council session, a motion presented by Unidas Podemos to stop the construction of 420 luxury villas was rejected. “Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean I, as the mayor, will deny the permit. A snake, a widow beetle, and three dead flies are not enough to halt the project,” responded the Mayor of the municipality, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga (PSOE), to Podemos councilor Gabriel González.
The Cuna del Alma project lacks an environmental impact assessment, despite being adjacent to a Site of Scientific Interest where protected flora species like the sad viper and tabaibal cardonal have been found. This led Unidas Podemos to submit a motion to halt all activities in Sector SO 6 of Puertito de Adeje. The proposal was debated during the municipal council session on Tuesday and was rejected by all parties forming the corporation presided over by Fraga since 1987.
According to images from the plenary session published by Televisión Canaria, the Canarian Coalition stated that if the City Council halts the project, they would have to compensate the company with an amount ranging from 350 to 500 million euros. The mayor emphasized that they are strictly following legal procedures and will not stop the development, risking hefty compensations. “The Cuna del Alma model is what I envision for the entire Canary Islands,” Fraga concluded.
Meanwhile, at the Cuna del Alma site, the developer is erecting metal fencing. The ‘Salvar La Tejita’ group has lodged a complaint with Seprona, indicating that the installation of the two-meter-high fence is being done with heavy machinery in an area where the sad viper is present.
In November 2022, the Ecological Transition Department of the Government of the Canary Islands temporarily halted the works due to the “imminent threat of environmental harm” posed to protected wild flora. Additionally, the Canary Islands Executive denied the developer’s request to relocate this plant, which can only be moved for public interest reasons.
Environmentalists stress that there is still no permit for the snake’s translocation and no environmental impact assessment provided, meaning “not a single stone should be moved.” As learned, the Adeje City Council has not received any notification about a possible authorisation allowing the relocation of this species. The Government of the Canary Islands deems itself unfit to decide on the snake’s relocation, passing the decision to the Tenerife Council.
Highlighting the environmental impact of the fence, ‘Salvar La Tejita’ points out in the complaint to the Civil Guard that the plant’s dispersal mechanisms involve seed accumulation within a radius of 5 to 10 meters from the mother plant. Environmentalists accuse the Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment (ACPMN) of failing in their duties at Cuna del Alma and demand an investigation into the incident, urging contact with the biodiversity services of the Government of the Canary Islands.
On another note, an activist in Puertito de Adeje reported an altercation on Wednesday with one of the Cuna del Alma workers. “The manager of H5 Los Olivas started erecting a fence on access track to a protected natural area before the designated time, injuring a colleague’s foot,” as shared by the company on their Instagram account. The ‘Save El Puertito’ group added, “Cuna del Alma continues its unlawful and forceful actions.”
