Environment sanctions more than a hundred people in Lanzarote so far in 2026

The Cabildo of Lanzarote has reinforced the control of behaviors that infringe upon the island's natural environment. The corporation increased sanctioning files, going from 250 in 2024 to 305 in 2025, an increase of 22%. So far in 2026, the Environmental Agents Unit has already processed 130 new complaints, in addition to toughening conservation regulations for accessing prohibited areas and fines of up to 4,500 euros for serious infractions in areas of high ecological sensitivity.

The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, highlights that "the commitment to the sustainability of the Biosphere Reserve is unwavering." "Ensuring the conservation of biodiversity is an absolute political priority, undertaken through the real increase of surveillance and awareness resources on the ground, in addition to reinforcing sanctions," he stressed.

For his part, the Minister of Environment and Biosphere Reserve, Samuel Martín, explained that "this intense inspection work and the commitment to reinforcing the service aim to expedite the protection of the territory." Martín emphasizes that "the permanent staff of the Environmental Agents Unit has been doubled, which currently has ten professionals in active service." "When we came to the insular government, we found a situation difficult to justify: Lanzarote and La Graciosa were still dragging an Insular Territorial Planning Plan from 1991, clearly obsolete and unable to respond to current challenges. Even worse, the well-known Ezquiaga Plan, which cost more than 600,000 euros and gathered broad social consensus, was literally thrown in the trash in the last legislature."

Change in the typology of complaints

According to Martín, "territorial regulations are not simple administrative documents: they are basic tools to protect the territory, regulate uses, and ensure that the development of Lanzarote and La Graciosa combines the conservation of our heritage and the quality of life of those of us who live here."

In this regard, official data reveal a change in trend in the processed complaints. While in 2025 illegal urban development on rural land led the statistics with 32.1% of the files, in 2026 behaviors related to vehicles, such as illegal parking and circulation outside of designated tracks, have become the primary cause of sanctions on the island, with 40.8% of detected infringing activity.

This pressure is particularly evident in the rise of buggy tourist excursions on rural land. Councilor Samuel Martín recalled that "these vehicles are prohibited from circulating in protected natural areas on unpaved roads." The agents' firmness recently resulted in a serious administrative sanction of 4,500 euros against an active tourism company in the Los Ajaches Natural Monument.

Furthermore, in collaboration with the Seprona of the Civil Guard, another file was initiated against a convoy of six buggies in the Barranco de Las Piletas, in Guatiza, for traveling without authorization through a critical breeding area for endangered endemic avifauna, directly affecting the habitats of the Egyptian vulture, the Lesser kestrel, and the Barn owl. Martín warned that the Cabildo "is already studying the legal feasibility of prohibiting these excursions for environmental reasons and for the damage they cause to the traditional agricultural sector of "enarenados" by suffocating the plant."

Extreme surveillance of protected areas

Sanctioning rigor has also intensified in other points of maximum fragility on the island. In the Los Volcanes Natural Park, fines of 1,800 euros have been imposed for illegal ascents to fully protected craters such as Pico Partido, the Cuervo Volcano, or the El Golfo Mountain, in addition to applying fines of up to 360 euros for parking outside authorized areas. 

In La Geria, the use of drones without authorization has resulted in fines of between 360 and 600 euros, highlighting a proposed fine of 3,001 euros to an offender who performed a ski descent down a protected mountain. For its part, the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park concentrates fines of 150 euros for illegal camping on Bajo Risco Beach, fines of 90 euros for making fires and fines of up to 900 euros for cycling off the designated trails. In the La Corona Reserve, special devices against unauthorized access to the Jameo de la Puerta Falsa accumulate multiple individual sanctions of 120 euros.