The Rallye Isla de Los Volcanes has a date again, after its cancellation last April, and with this new call, the criticisms from environmental groups and associations have also returned. "The celebration of the rally is a serious act of irresponsibility", warns Alberto Ucero, researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences and member of the Higher Council for Scientific Research.
The Viento del Noreste Environmental Association (Desert Watch Lanzarote), which was one of those who opposed its celebration seven months ago, has now launched "an appeal to the island and regional administrations, to take into account the serious consequences that the next celebration of this rally, scheduled for the first three days of December, may have for the steppe birds that inhabit El Jable."
Ucero recalls that the Cabildo ended up suspending the last call, after the unfavorable reports from the Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands, which indicated that this sporting event "negatively affected in a very significant way different protected species in the area and their habitat".
"However, seven months later it seems that this event will take place on December 1, 2 and 3, 2022, with hardly any modifications to the sections initially planned," questions the researcher, who is part of the Hubara Project Group of the CSIC.
"From our experience, we want to insist that some sections of the rally cross important areas for the Canary Islands Houbara Bustard on the island, according to our data from monitoring the houbara population initiated in 2016," he warns, noting that "the celebration of the rally would mean non-compliance with different regulations for the protection of several species and their habitats."
Specifically, he recalls that the houbara is included as an endangered species in the Spanish Catalog of Endangered Species and, therefore, "must be subject to special measures to ensure its conservation and that of its habitat."
"It coincides with the reproductive season" of the houbara
Ucero adds that "the authorities of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the regional government should be aware of the negative impact that the celebration of the rally in December would have, since it coincides with the reproductive season of the species, once the courtship of the male houbara and the nesting of the females has begun."
In this regard, the Viento del Noreste Association explains that "the unexpected arrival of rains this autumn has caused the nuptial courtship of the houbara bustard to be brought forward, so it is estimated that this species and others such as the Saharan runner or the stone curlew will be nesting and raising chicks in the month of December, the date on which the celebration of the rally is scheduled."
"It is well known that this type of sporting events attract numerous spectators who occupy areas near the route of the car race with their own vehicles. It is precisely these areas that the birds choose to do their nuptial dances and later nest and feed their chicks," explains the association.
In addition, Viento del Noroeste questions that "it is still waiting for both the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands to answer the request for information on the route of the race and the environmental reports that support its celebration", after having been canceled in April, in the midst of a controversy that ended months later with the dismissal of who was the Councilor for the Environment of the Cabildo, Elena Solís.
They demand at least "measures to minimize the impact"
"We consider it essential that administrations are more sensitive to the protection and improvement of biodiversity and the alterations that climate change can bring about in the nesting and chick-rearing seasons, especially in an area as sensitive as El Jable. It should be noted that all the species of steppe birds that inhabit El Jable are threatened and at risk of extinction," insists Viento del Noroeste.
For this reason, it requests "the competent administrations to avoid as much as possible the celebration of sporting events of this type in protected natural spaces or, failing that, impose on the organizers measures to minimize the impact, creating sections without public, properly managing the areas of concentration of attendees, and facilitating public transport to these areas to avoid crowds of cars."
In this regard, it recalls that "the main threats suffered by El Jable are the transit of vehicles such as quads, motorcycles and bicycles off the tracks - some making a deafening noise that stresses the birds or drives them away from their nests - loose dogs, fragmentation of the territory by the extraction of aggregates, and others."
"Almost zero" surveillance in El Jable
"All this is possible because surveillance in El Jable is almost zero and proof of this is the scenario that we could see at the end of October, with numerous hunters with dogs, people walking with loose dogs, motorcycles running at full speed and to top it off a tourist helicopter flying at low altitude," he questions.
Alberto Ucero also emphasizes that "the departure of vehicles and people outside roads and tracks, the emission of noise, the abandonment of waste and the alteration of the populations of arthropods and reptiles that are part of the diet of these birds, contribute to the degradation of their habitat", and stresses that "the species of fauna affected are very sensitive to disturbances of human origin", so that "the celebration of the rally would involve the alteration of their foraging, feeding and breeding areas, causing a very negative impact on the habitat."
In his opinion, "this type of events should not be held in habitats with protected species, especially on an island designated as a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO Global Geopark", so he recommends, from the Research Group of the Hubara Project of the CSIC, that "the development of motor racing events of this type should not be authorized in those areas that constitute the habitat of the Canary houbara and that alternatives compatible with the conservation of biodiversity should be sought."
