Oswaldo Betancort regrets that "the Board of Trustees of the Timanfaya National Park has not yet been convened", when the camel sector of Lanzarote has been requesting it "for years from all relevant levels", and he has claimed this in parliamentary committee this Friday to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning.
“Neither the island of Lanzarote nor its genuine landscape, as characteristic and unique as that of Yaiza and La Geria, would be understood without knowing the historical contribution and the role of the camels that, together with man, have shaped the scenario that today makes us unique worldwide”, Betancort stated at the beginning of his speech.
“In our agriculture, our cultivation systems, and in every step that has been taken throughout the history of our island, the camel has been present until it was relegated to the tourist sphere, to the well-known tourist walks along the path of Las Montañas de Fuego in the Timanfaya National Park. Thanks to this activity, the native breed of the Canarian camel is preserved, and it is our obligation as public managers to help protect it”, argued the deputy for Lanzarote and La Graciosa of the Canarian Nationalist Group.
Betancort points out that currently, "there are many families from the town of Uga who, with their sacrifice and effort, have sustained one of Lanzarote's most iconic traditions and have made possible this protection and defense of the camel lineage, also present in Fuerteventura, in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, which have come from the same cradle, specifically from the Vallito de Uga, which houses the most important camel herd in Europe".
“To continue ensuring the existence and survival of the camel and this activity, it is urgent to review the rates set in 2009, which barely cover expenses, which has been aggravated by the pandemic, a very hard blow that has seriously injured this sector that was completely stopped but has had to bear the cost of maintaining its animals and their respective farms”, he explained.
Betancort affirms that far from finding a solution, the camel herders of Lanzarote are "asking for help from the institutions", after going to the Yaiza City Council and the Cabildo of Lanzarote "without success". The deputy adds that the president of the Cabildo herself, María Dolores Corujo, said that these rates would be reviewed "as soon as the Board of Trustees of the Timanfaya National Park meets, an appointment that is expected to take place at the beginning of 2022, as soon as it is specified by the Government of the Canary Islands, by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against climate change and Territorial Planning".
“Therefore, the ball is in their court, and it is their responsibility to help this sector move forward, so it is in their hands to help maintain the economy of 40 families from the town of Uga, as well as the jobs and the indirect economy generated by this activity”, concluded Betancort.
