One of the conclusions drawn at the 2nd Forum on Water Policies was provided by Canaragua’s manager, Daniel Martín, who explained that “25% of the Island’s water consumption is due to banana cultivation.” He mentioned this during the second colloquium of this event, which analysed the water needs of different productive sectors and aimed to shed light on the support available to businesses and the improvement solutions to be implemented.
The Circle of Entrepreneurs and Professionals from the South of Tenerife (CEST) held this Forum on Friday under the theme Business, tourism, and water. The goal was to inform, with the involvement of institutions in the sector, about the consequences that the water emergency has on the Island and its economy. Javier Cabrera, president of the organizing group, explained that the aim was for the primary water resource managers to present the latest data on water consumption, generation, and treatment. Cabrera highlighted the presence of the agricultural and tourism sectors to showcase the initiatives they are already implementing in water management.
“Historically, water resources management in the private sector of our Island has been a benchmark of innovation and dedicated work. Building on this foundation, at CEST we wanted to address the current situation from a professional perspective, with the aim of fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors,” he defended.
The CEO of the Primary Sector and Animal Welfare at the Tenerife Island Council, Valentín González, highlighted the need to stay positive in this emergency situation, as “good results from the initiatives being developed by the island’s Corporation will soon be visible.” He emphasized the power of public-private collaboration to work on the efficiency of drinking and irrigation water: “This effort must be a common endeavour for institutions, the private sector, and society at large.”
The Insular Director of Waste, Alejandro Molowny, explained that the administration is working on over 75 initiatives addressing the water situation on the Island. “We believe that creating spaces like this forum is essential, especially in times like the one we are currently experiencing,” he stated.
The first panel discussion focused on the current water situation and its use, with particular attention to short and medium-term plans at the institutional level. In this setting, the manager of the Insular Water Council, Javier Davara, explained that the response to the water emergency should not only be based on the development of emergency projects but also on creating initiatives between institutions and private companies with the goal of “uniting forces and creating cross-cutting initiatives.”
The owner of La Calabacera Ecología Gourmet farm, Dulce Acevedo, highlighted that farmers are aware of the importance of being careful with water consumption and the costs it entails for everyone, therefore, “we work to minimize or eliminate the amount of water lost in our operations.”
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The event concluded with a presentation from the Operations Director of GF Hoteles, Juan Carlos de León, who underscored the strong relationship that Canary Islanders have with water and how the private sector works every day to ensure that their activities have no negative impact on the population.
