Ecologistas en Acción Lanzarote has requested the paralysis of the works being carried out between the Monumento al Campesino and La Florida due to its impact on an important colony of the red yesquera (Helichrysum monogynum). This species is a subshrub that "can only be found in La Florida, Las Nieves and Montaña Cavera."
The environmental association reveals that it is a species of endemic flora of Lanzarote in danger of extinction, because it is located in easily accessible areas very close to urban centers, "so it is exposed to numerous threats such as ignorance when intervening in the landscape."
Ecologistas en Acción denounces that the Order of February 20, 2021 on the protection of species of wild vascular flora of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is being infringed and requests the Government of the Canary Islands to count the specimens of this species that are collected in the last monitoring carried out by Pérez-Gil and Caballero-Fernández in 2022.
The environmental group recalls that the Government of the Canary Islands has a free online access tool such as the Bank of the Natural Inventory of the Canary Islands (BIOCAN) where information on species of the archipelago is gathered, as well as The Network for Detection and Intervention of Invasive Alien Species in the Canary Islands (REDEXOS) which, in addition to offering training courses and monitoring endemic flora, aims to identify and eradicate outbreaks of invasive alien species (IAS).
The association regrets that "those responsible for the works are not looking after the Natural Heritage of Lanzarote" and urges that "measures be taken to stop this barbarity." It also highlights that "the safeguarding of the flora and the landscape and environmental values of Lanzarote is not achieved exclusively with laws nor is it only a task of the institutions, but the citizens are also co-responsible and should be actively involved in their protection and care, informing themselves beforehand before destroying, as is happening with the red yesquera in this area of Lanzarote and that we have already seen has happened in Las Peñas del Chache."
At the same time, it points out that endemic flora is that whose distribution radius is limited to a single place in the world and whose vulnerability is enormous. With smaller populations, they are key to their ecosystems and become a thermometer when measuring the state of health of a territory.
For this reason, its protection against the threats of extinction is fundamental. The loss of biodiversity is one of the greatest concerns due to the consequences it entails, which go beyond the extinction of species, also threatening human beings themselves due to their impact on the soil and water.