The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Lanzarote presented this Thursday the 'Diocalandra Frumenti Control and Eradication Plan' in the palm trees of Lanzarote, whose total budget is "2 million euros", with each corporation contributing "one million euros".
Likewise, after carrying out an initial diagnosis of the situation and seeing its magnitude, with the first works, both corporations have agreed on "new actions, with economic reinforcement, adding some actions outside the agreement", with an allocation that could amount to "4 million euros".
This project aims to increase the plague-free areas on the island, as well as the establishment of phytosanitary measures to prevent reinfection, from the most affected areas.
At the presentation ceremony, the councilor, Mariano H. Zapata, highlighted the important coordination work of both corporations "to work on the recovery of a species so important for the landscape of Lanzarote, such as the Canary palm tree," explaining that it is "a very harmful plague from an environmental and aesthetic point of view." According to him, with this investment, "all necessary measures will be taken to eradicate it, thus achieving the protection of this natural symbol, so important for this and the other islands, and which also represents an important contribution to the economy of all of them."
"It is time to act decisively and quickly," considers the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, who explained during the presentation that "the plan that both administrations have drawn up together, with an initial budget of 2 million euros that will soon be expanded, not only focuses on the control and eradication of the plague, but also on the recovery and protection in the long term of our palm grove."
A commitment that we assume with "determination and with the firm desire to ensure the conservation of our natural heritage" and, in this case, also "cultural, such as the Canary palm tree."
For his part, the CEO of GMR Canarias, Juan Antonio Alonso, highlights the "proven experience" of the technical staff who will carry out these works in the "control of this and other pests such as the red palm weevil", and explains that "a total of nine operators will be in charge of carrying out these actions", in collaboration with the Department of Plant Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty, and using a "trapping system developed by the 'Canary Institute of Agricultural Research' (ICIA)".
During the press conference presenting the agreement this Thursday, the actions to be carried out were detailed, with the aim of "reducing the pressure of the plague and controlling it in those highly affected areas." In addition, emphasis was placed on the need to carry out "awareness measures for the agents involved and the population" in general of the phytosanitary status of the island's plant heritage.
These actions, which will be carried out by the public company 'Gestión del Medio Rural de Canarias' (GMR), will consist of works that include the massive capture of Diocalandra Frumenti, by means of traps with pheromones, the phytosanitary treatment of affected palm trees, sanitation work and the pruning and/or elimination of palm trees severely affected by the plague.
In addition, a geographic information system (Distribution Maps) will be implemented on the actions carried out and different training courses will be given in palm tree work to gardening technicians from the different institutions of the island, hotels, residential areas, etc. In addition, a dissemination and awareness campaign will be launched that will include, among other actions, informative and awareness talks.
On the day, the project website and social networks (Facebook: Palmeras Lanzarote / Instagram: Palmeraslanzarote) were presented, through which all the information about the 'Diocalandra frumenti Control and Eradication Plan' in the palm trees of Lanzarote will be brought to the citizens.
