"Anonymous struggle for an island to live on." This is how Colectivo Tabaiba defines itself on its social networks. This citizen platform has become a space for social advocacy to fight against mass tourism and a loudspeaker to publicly denounce the environmental crimes that occur daily in Lanzarote.
For the first time, and from anonymity, this collective has decided to give an interview to expose its demands and explain why they arise. This citizen organization defines itself as "a vector to channel the concern" of the population in the face of "the economic system imposed on the island and that "does not allow them to live comfortably with the well-being they were promised."
In this line, it highlights that "whoever manages the account is the least important thing. What matters is the content that is generated by collecting all that frustration and rage of a people who want to live here but have neither a home nor any kind of future."
Colectivo Tabaiba is serving as a public means of denouncing the environmental attacks that are committed daily on the island, before creating the account, were you aware that the natural spaces of Lanzarote suffered so many aggressions?
We knew that the island is overcrowded and that it is no longer comfortable or pleasant to walk through certain places, but little by little, when people started sending us their complaints, we realized that the problem was much worse.
Reality tells us, and we have verified it firsthand, that if you go any day at any time to a natural space with a lot of tourist influx, you will find some aggression to the natural environment, the landscape or biodiversity. And those who manage the institutions also know it, even if they pretend nothing is happening.
But the worst thing is that the tourist model we have is based precisely on that impunity that tourists have. The "do whatever you want" is part of the experience they sell them.
What are the main problems that Lanzarote is going through at this moment?
We like to treat this as a great disease that has different symptoms. Lanzarote is sick with mass tourism and political corruption, which live in perfect symbiosis.
The most urgent symptom due to the social tragedy it implies is the lack of housing. Young people in Lanzarote live in a situation of extreme uncertainty because they do not know where they are going to go when they want to leave the nest, and that uncertainty weighs down an entire generation that is called to face the great challenges of the immediate future.
Another symptom is the loss of biodiversity and it is more serious than it seems. Nature is a fragile balance and any change can make everything go to hell.
One of the most graphic examples is the loss of marine biodiversity. We hear fishermen say that there are no fish and they are right, there is much less marine fauna in part because half of the seagrass beds on our coasts have been lost. And they have been lost due to tourist degradation, artificial beaches, the anchoring of recreational boats, etc.
It is not the same to maintain public services for 160,000 inhabitants than for 250,000, which is the total population when hotels are at 90%, defends Colectivo Tabaiba
Mass tourism also has a very negative impact on public services, such as health, the water cycle, waste management. It is not the same to maintain public services for 160,000 inhabitants than for 250,000, which is the total population when hotels are at 90%.
There are many more symptoms that must be treated urgently and that range from job insecurity, loss of identity, degradation of the landscape or rising prices in all sectors. It is a structural disease that branches out endlessly. The model must be changed from the root, always counting on the local population as a beacon and guide.
I understand that you will attend the demonstration on April 20, if so, what are the main demands?
Of course. We will be there as anonymous citizens. Our main demand, which may seem very symbolic but summarizes everything, is to ask all political parties to stop treating us like idiots.
On Saturday we will see many politicians from parties that, while in government, did not want to implement the policies that are demanded, and that is a lack of respect for the people who honestly are going to ask for a change of model.
It is clear that no one can be prevented from the right to free demonstration, but we hope that at least they do not have the nerve to go showing off their acronyms or monopolizing the spotlight. The fact that the Canary Islands does not have a tourist eco-tax today, which is the minimum that is requested, is the responsibility of both Coalición Canaria, as well as the PP, the PSOE or Nueva Canarias.
After the announcement by the Cabildo of Lanzarote to control access to the Cuervo volcano and Caldera Blanca and the option of using shuttle buses, what is the position of Colectivo Tabaiba?
Well, it's a bit of a joke. That plan presented by the Cabildo is a mockery of intelligence. First, it rescues two projects that have been on the table for years, such as the restoration of some (few) volcanic cones that have been going around the Environment area for two years without the corresponding European funds arriving, and the other is the eternal idea of making a parking lot in Mancha Blanca and visiting the entire area in shuttles, changing the problem of location and taking all that overcrowding to a rural town.
Then they say that they are going to implement a tax, but there is no economic study, no regulation or anything. It also does not specify whether residents will have to pay that tax or not or if we will have to make an appointment to go for a walk through Caldera Blanca. If so, it would mean the practical expulsion of locals from their own Natural Park.
They do not dare to attack the problem at its root, put effective surveillance and sanction with the law in hand and set limits from the origin because there is a lot of stomach to maintain and many business interests. This is what they mean when they say that Lanzarote lives off tourism.
Given the possibility of creating restrictions in other areas of the island, do you think there should be different restrictions for tourists and others for residents?
It is essential. Applying restrictions would imply that we would stop going or that we would go much less. If we want our people to respect and defend Lanzarote, they have to know it and know the importance of each stone and each lichen. Moreover, we must emphasize this, that from a very young age we are instilled with love and respect for our little piece of land.
This is what made Manrique different. He was passionate, he was moved by the love and admiration he felt for the island, and that is impossible to feel without knowing what surrounds us.
Should the access of rental vehicles to certain areas of the island be limited in order to protect the environment?
They should be limited throughout the island. That mantra that certain parties always have, especially those on the right and those closest to certain business interests, that Lanzarote is at the bottom in terms of roads, would end. We don't need more asphalt, we need fewer cars.
The tourist model of Lanzarote is designed so that the rental car is essential. Maybe 30 years ago, when we were half the residents and a third of the tourism came, it made sense because it was even considered a more exclusive experience, but now with the population of law and floating that we have, it is an absolute nonsense.
Same with private cars. The number of cars on the island is not normal, but with the lamentable public transport we have, it is understood. In the end, the interests that move this are the same.
What is the collective's position on vacation rentals?
We do not understand that any essential good is speculated with and housing is. Each home dedicated to the tourist market is one less home for Canarian families, and in a finite territory, the number of houses also has a very specific limit.
To democratize the benefits of the tourism sector, there are other formulas that do not compromise a basic and constitutional right such as housing.
Are you in favor of the implementation of an eco-tax and a tourist moratorium in the Canary Islands? Why?
The eco-tax is a minimum measure that is incomprehensible that has not already been applied in the Canary Islands, which is one of the tourist engines of Europe. It has been shown that it does not pose any impediment for people to continue traveling, no tourist destination suffered a drop in visitors when implementing them, if that is what has led them to refuse it all these years, and precisely for that reason it must be accompanied by the moratorium.
The eco-tax must be earmarked, this means that the purpose of what is collected must be specific and must be used to reverse the negative effects of tourism on the environment and the landscape. There are some voices trying to convince us that the eco-tax should be invested in improving the tourist offer. Again thinking that we are idiots.
The moratorium is such a logical and basic measure that it can be explained as if it were the capacity of a place. When the capacity of a bar is exceeded, the safety and comfort of the customers suffer, although the owner is delighted because his billing goes up. Lanzarote, according to load capacity studies, has already exceeded its capacity and hoteliers and businessmen are delighted. The institutions must act in the same way as they act on a place with the capacity overflowing: the excess of clients is taken out. The institutions must declassify tourist beds so that Lanzarote's capacity does not overflow again.
