Jose Antonio Valbuena Alonso He is responsible for the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning, from where he has the challenge of ensuring the environment in the Canary Islands, as he did before from the Cabildo de Tenerife. He has had and has an enormous responsibility ahead of him, faced with the difficult task of reconciling, for example, tourist and economic development with the safeguarding of our natural spaces, or shortening the times in the transition to green or clean energy, although sometimes it seems that you are alone within a government pact with conflicting interests. Still in quarantine for a positive COVID, without symptoms thanks to being vaccinated, he attends us electronically.
-Let’s go to the heart of the controversy. What are the reasons why the Government of the Canary Islands, through its counseling, has slammed the Punta de Abona hotel project?
“It has been an analysis from the point of view of spatial planning and another from the environmental point of view. In the first facet, not only would it happen that some floors that are currently rustic would be considered urban for hotel use, but it would also mean the suspension of some sections of the PIOT, therefore here we find that two regulations had to be suspended , one of a local level and another of a higher level, as in this case it is the insular area of the PIOT. Article 168 of the Law of the Territory is only contemplated for the suspension of local regulations, as is the case of subsidiary regulations. We then find ourselves with a technical problem, that a suspension of the subsidiary regulations is not possible for that parcel, as the island regulations operate on that territory, in addition to being currently in the middle of drafting the General Plan of Arico. Suspensions are only conceived when a PGO is approved and there are some actions that may pose a risk to the municipality. In this case, the PGO is being developed and it will be that General Plan in the coming years that will define the compatible uses for that land. And then we have the environmental aspect. We find that the soil is home to a very important number of protected species, more than 30 that are on the Spanish list of wild species, to which we must add that there are some species that are in danger of extinction, as well as some habitats of tabaibales and littoral dune system, which is the only one left in Tenerife. With the operation of a hotel complex of four five-star hotels, with three thousand beds and with the complements of uses related to leisure, this land would be irreparably damaged. This is not solved by placing green roofs, it would be worth in a landscaping way, but not in an environmental way ”.
-Is there room for a modification of the project and that it can overcome these environmental conditions with a new PGO?
“Do not. It is very complicated that the uses of the land are not other than those that guarantee its protection. In the current situation, there is no room for any modification of the project, because it is not a regulated act, as it is a discretionary act that the Government of the Canary Islands has made use of. Another thing is that when the PGO is processed, the qualification of these soils may vary ”.
-And how do you explain that in 2016 and 2018 the Government and the Cabildo gave the go-ahead to the hotel project as a strategic investment?
“They are two different processes. One thing is to analyze the strategy of an investment and another thing is to put on the table the environmental aspect and the suspension of planning. The analysis that was made in the Cabildo was only of economic strategy and here the Government what it has done is an analysis in terms of planning and environmental management ”.
-Aren’t you afraid that this matter will be prosecuted?
“As always, promoters have the right to appeal, but when we make a decision we don’t think about it, because it would be to assume that we are afraid. We always make the decision based on technical criteria ”.
-Does it bother you that the president of Fepeco describes you as an activist advisor?
“No, what do you want me to tell you. Mr. Óscar Izquierdo has not found out that we are in the 21st century. The same technical criteria that support the Chira-Soria jump are the same that the hotels in Punta de Abona do not support ”.
-What in September the management of Coasts passes to the Government of the Canary Islands can serve to save the pools of Los Silos or Candelaria, for example?
“It is very complicated because the legislation is the same in one case as in another. When we talk about this type of concessions in the public domain, when it is necessary to say it does not matter who says it, although the management can be more agile. Right now we are analyzing some differences that we have for this transfer. We have not been able to assume it in July because they are very delicate competences and we have to have full guarantees, such as the planning reports that we want to be the exclusive competence of the Canary Islands Government, as well as the creation of a monitoring commission, because it has been proven in recent years communication with the General Directorate of Coasts has not been as fluid as it should be ”.
