Ecologistas en Acción Lanzarote has reported this Monday that the new ordinance regulating traffic in La Graciosa includes the provisional authorization of up to fifteen vehicles and their access to the Natural Park environment through the enabled roads.
The environmental organization has argued that this modification of the ordinance "is not sufficiently justified from a technical, legal, and environmental point of view" and has warned that it "may compromise the conservation objectives that govern one of the natural spaces of greatest ecological value in the Canary archipelago".
Thus, it has indicated that the current ordinance, approved in 2005, responded precisely to this reality, "configuring a mobility model based on the exceptionality of motorized traffic and the priority of pedestrian and cyclist travel, strictly limiting the circulation of motor vehicles as an essential instrument" to preserve the territorial identity and environmental values of the island".
The group points out that the environmental impacts derived from motorized traffic do not depend exclusively on the number of authorized vehicles, but also on the frequency of circulation, the repetition of routes, the increase in traffic on dirt tracks, soil compaction, dust generation, noise, landscape alteration, and disturbances caused to wildlife.
The modification now proposed represents a significant alteration of this model, particularly through the increase in the number of vehicles for excursion services, from 2 in 2005 to 15 in the new wording.
It also recalls that the Supreme Court has stated in repeated rulings that Public Administrations cannot reduce the level of environmental protection already achieved in a protected area without reinforced justification; the principle of non-regression acts as a limit to the exercise of the discretionary power of the Administration.
Finally, Ecologistas en Acción Lanzarote requests that the regime planned for the transport of visitors be "reconsidered" by eliminating tourist excursions, and that they be replaced by a program of guided tours on foot or by bicycle that contributes to a mobility model consistent with the special environmental fragility of La Graciosa.
At the same time, he has insisted that transport between population centers must be "public and collective," with the roads leading to Playa de las Conchas, Montaña Amarilla, and Playa Francesa being reserved "exclusively" for pedestrian and cyclist traffic, with prohibition of access for motor vehicles, except for emergencies, residents for justified reasons, or management tasks of the Natural Park.