The Cabildo of Lanzarote has been awarded the Endecan Sustainability Award for its work in the conservation and protection of La Geria, an agricultural landscape unique in the world that combines tradition, natural innovation, and an exemplary relationship with the environment.
The distinction was presented during the gala held yesterday, Wednesday, at the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as part of the III Endecan Awards by Endesa, which recognize individuals, entities, and projects that contribute to the advancement of the Canary Islands in areas such as sustainability, biodiversity, science, equality, sports, or culture.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, has highlighted that this recognition "is a well-deserved award for Lanzarote and its people, for all the farmers and winegrowers who, generation after generation, have known how to understand the island and coexist with its harsh nature to turn it into beauty, culture, and future. La Geria is a life lesson and an example of how sustainability is built from identity".
Betancort added that this award comes at a particularly significant moment for the island, as "Lanzarote has also recently received the SIPAM 2025 certificate from the FAO, becoming the first European island recognized as a **Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System**. It is an honor for this land and an international confirmation that our **traditional agricultural practices**, such as those of La Geria or the jable, are a living heritage that we must continue to protect".
The Minister of Food Sovereignty and Landscape, Samuel Martín, who was in charge of receiving the award, pointed out that La Geria "is one of the most unique and valuable agricultural landscapes in the Canary Islands and in the world, an extraordinary balance between agricultural activity and environmental conservation." Martín emphasized that the award recognizes the effort of the primary sector and the technical and institutional work carried out to protect this unique wine-growing system.
In recent years, the island's Council has developed a strategy for agricultural sustainability, which includes programs such as Guardians of the Territory, the recovery of abandoned farms, subsidies for pit cultivation, irrigation aid, actions to promote generational change, and the restoration of cisterns and maretas, essential elements of traditional hydraulic heritage. These measures have contributed to strengthening agricultural activity in La Geria and preserving a production system that has remained alive for centuries thanks to the effort and wisdom of generations of farmers
The Endecan Award for Sustainability once again positions La Geria as an international benchmark for living cultural landscapes and consolidates Lanzarote's role in defending traditional agriculture as a driver of identity, development, and territorial balance.
