The Management Committee of the Interreg-Mac 2014-2020 Program, which includes Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands, as well as the EU and third countries of the so-called Macaronesia axis, Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde, has granted funding to 56 approved projects out of the 215 that were submitted to this European Union community program. It has a total of 130 million euros, 85% financed by the Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Of the 56 approved proposals, the island of Lanzarote was part of 4 territorial cooperation projects that will be executed jointly with other islands of Macaronesia, Europe and third countries.
The Cabildo of Lanzarote participated in two projects, 'Enermac' and 'Margullar', through the areas of Energy and Historical Heritage, which are directed by Ariagona González and Carmen Rosa Márquez, respectively; and a third, 'Ecotur-Azul', led through the Society for Foreign Promotion (SPEL) coordinated by the Tourism Councilor Echedey Eugenio. Regarding the fourth project, 'Eco-tur', it was presented by the City Council of Teguise, together with 16 other entities and local administrations.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, has "congratulated that the Institution, through Turismo Lanzarote, the Heritage area and the Energy area, will participate in these projects of the MAC (Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands) program of Territorial Cooperation", together with the geographically close third countries that have agreed to participate equally in these programs (Cape Verde, Senegal and Mauritania), receiving in the specific case of the Cabildo "financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) worth just over one million euros".
"This is a good example of the results of the strategic alliances that are being established from the different public administrations of the Canary Islands in the environment of the so-called islands of Macaronesia and of the bilateral relations that are being forged with some countries in full development and economic growth, such as Cape Verde, in order to join cooperation efforts for the benefit of all parties", highlighted the president of the Cabildo, whose administration is at the head of two of the four approved projects, "one of underwater archaeological heritage and another for the provision of resources for a coastal and nautical network linked to tourism". The third project in which the Cabildo participates, the one on renewables and energy efficiency, does so as a partner of the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC) that directs the project.
Likewise, he has conveyed "his public congratulations" to the municipality of Teguise "for leading the fourth project, fully financed with 2.1 million euros from Interreg-ERDF funds, to execute the ecotourism and active tourism project in a network of some 16 municipalities in this environment of Macaronesia, from which the island of Lanzarote and La Graciosa will also benefit".
Enermac Project, renewables and energy efficiency
Of these projects, the Cabildo of Lanzarote has participated in 'Enermac', for the implementation of renewable energies and energy efficiency for the sustainable development of West Africa and the islands of Macaronesia, as a partner of various public administrations and entities of the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde and Mauritania.
Among the beneficiaries of this project, whose leader has been the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC), are also the Cabildo of El Hierro, the University of La Laguna and Las Palmas, the FECAM, the Official College of Architects of Gran Canaria, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, and six other entities from Cape Verde, Mauritania and Madeira.
According to reports from the Cabildo, "the total ERDF assigned for the Enermac project is 2,017,554 euros, with an approximate amount of 60,000 euros being granted to the Cabildo of Lanzarote for the development of the corresponding part of the project that seeks to undertake the maximization of the penetration of renewable energies in weak networks".
In this way, the more than two million euros granted from ERDF (85% of the project) "will be directed to carry out energy planning in the territories, with the study of strategies for the implementation of marine and terrestrial wind infrastructures, low-carbon mobility and a mathematical modeling or simulation of the system. The rational use of energy will also be promoted, employing the integration of solar heat in industrial processes, implementing the use of low enthalpy geothermal energy, carrying out the energy recovery of available waste and promoting energy efficiency in construction; and finally, through electrical networks in order to reinforce them to increase the percentage of penetration of renewable energies and study of microgrids in isolated areas".
Margullar Project, underwater archaeological heritage
They have detailed from the Corporation that "the 'Margullar' project pursues the design of an underwater archaeological tourism product in the islands of Macaronesia".
"In total, the ERDF assigned for this candidacy is 1,194,881.27 euros, with the Cabildo of Lanzarote leading it", they have pointed out. Thus, "the first insular Institution will receive about 700,000 euros of European funds to execute this archaeological tourism product". Among its partners are the regional directorate of Culture of the Government of the Azores, the Agency for the Development of Culture of the Azores, the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Tourism of Madeira, the Chamber of Commerce of Madeira, the general directorate of Cultural Heritage of Senegal and the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Cape Verde.
According to the program, through this 1.2 million euros that Europe will finance, it is intended to organize working days for the design of a common methodology for the conservation, valorization and management of the underwater archaeological heritage of the islands of Macaronesia; develop a Local Action Plan for the creation of an Underwater Archaeological Tourism Product in these territories; improve the links with the Centers of Underwater Archeology of recognized prestige in pursuit of the best practices for the protection and valorization of the archaeological heritage underwater of the Islands; and catalog the available assets, heritage valuation and delimitation of the tourist underwater area. Similarly, tourist itineraries and routes will be created for the valorization and enjoyment of the valuable underwater archaeological heritage of Macaronesia and an interpretation center will be enabled for the reception of visitors and the management of the created underwater tourism product, among other actions.
Ecotur-Azul Project, provision of resources for a coastal and nautical itinerary
The project led by Turismo Lanzarote (SPEL) "intends to develop a common model of ecotourism to value and protect the heritage resources of coastal and maritime territories, contributing to the "Blue Growth" strategy of the Macaronesian cooperation area", they have stated.
The total ERDF assigned to the project directed by the SPEL, "is 892,181.25 euros, of which the Society for Foreign Promotion of Lanzarote will receive about 270,000 euros, approximately, for the joint actions of the Ecotur-Azul project that will have the objective of reducing the impact of human activity on cultural and natural heritage, and reinforce awareness measures in environmental matters in tourist areas and improve the capacities of actors to develop innovative practices".
As partners of Ecotur-Azul, the SPEL has the City Council of Santa Cruz de La Palma, the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the North of Gran Canaria, the Municipality of Funchal, the municipality of Da Horta and as participants from third countries, Mauritania and Cape Verde.
According to the program, with these nearly 895,000 euros it is intended to consolidate and extend the digital transformation of the associated island territories and their development as a 'smart' tourist destination in perfect harmony with the 'Smart Island' strategy, through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and public-private collaboration.
The project in particular is integrated into the Lanzarote 2020 Strategy, the Strategic Plan 2014-2020 of La Palma: La Palma intelligent territory, the Strategic Plan Gran Canaria Tourism 2020 and the shared strategy 'Smart Island'. In this context, the Odyssea model, recognized as an example and certified at community level (COM 86 Final), aims to consolidate local initiatives. It focuses on the needs of tourists, sailors (coastal and maritime tourism) and the local tourism ecosystem, enabling sustainable local development "Sea-Land" through an efficient, integrated and intensive use of information and communication technologies linked to an innovative governance model, integrated economic development, interrelation with other territories or agents.
For its part, Ecotur-Azul will also be associated with the installation of ICT materials to transmit information to the platform and enable measuring the tourist's experience at all times. Following the bases of the European reference Odyssea in "open data" sailors and tourists, can by Sea and by Land receive tourist, cultural, gastronomic, heritage, environmental information, access audios and landscape reading system cultural in several languages and conduct commercial transactions with the local productive fabric.
Ecotur, promotion of ecotourism and active tourism
And finally, the City Council of Teguise, at the head, together with 16 other partner municipalities of the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Senegal, Cape Verde and Mauritania will receive "a total of 2.1 million euros from ERDF as a whole for the 'Ecotur' project for the development of a transnational network of municipalities for the co-production of a strategy, for the valorization of natural and ethnographic heritage through the promotion of ecotourism and active tourism".
