The Association of Friends of Wine and Cheese of Lanzarote has presented a total of seven allegations to the Special Plan of the Protected Landscape of La Geria to argue that this protected space "is not a natural landscape, but a historical agricultural creation, and it will only be preserved if those who work it every day are protected".
"La Geria was not made by nature: it was made by our grandparents, hole by hole and wall by wall, after the volcano covered everything," states Mario Pérez Hernández, president of the Association. "When we say that the farmer is the manager of the landscape, we are not asking for a favor or an honorary title, we are asking for recognition of what they already are: the person who keeps it standing every day. Protecting this landscape without protecting those who work it is impossible, and you cannot ask for more obligations without providing the tools to fulfill them."
After the Timanfaya eruptions, the land was covered in volcanic ash, and it was the island's farmers who developed the hole, the zoco, the stone wall, and the use of picón as a moisture sponge. "The entire landscape we admire today is the work of man. From this derives a practical consequence that admits no detours: without active farmers, the holes fill up, the walls fall down, the plants are lost, and the landscape degrades," he continues.
The allegations presented:
- Recognition of the farmer as a landscape manager. That the Plan expressly state that La Geria is an agricultural landscape created by farmers and that the maintenance of holes, walls, and socos is human work, not a natural process.
- Small agricultural constructions. Authorization of tool sheds, small warehouses, and shelters integrated into the landscape, with traditional materials and colors.
- Tourism management. Access control, organized parking, marked routes, and economic return for agricultural maintenance. Tourism uses the landscape; it cannot destroy it.
- Maintenance of agricultural roads. That the Plan obliges the Cabildo to maintain them in good condition and to clearly define who is responsible for each section.
- Balance between protection and economic viability. That any restriction be accompanied by aid, reconstruction programs, and support for generational change.
- Recognition of the historical reality of La Geria. That its agricultural origin be recognized and that protecting the landscape implies protecting the activity that keeps it alive.
- Real participation of the agricultural sector. Creation of a Monitoring Table with farmers, winemakers, associations, and technicians from the Cabildo.
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