The Cabildo of Lanzarote already has the draft of the Master Plan for Use and Management of the Natural Park (PRUG) of the Chinijo Archipelago, a document designed by the public company Gesplan and that the Institution has fed in recent weeks with the neighborhood contributions made in the working groups held in Caleta de Famara and Caleta de Sebo.
The draft and the initial strategic document of the Master Plan for Use and Management of the Natural Park of the Chinijo Archipelago is "a decisive step" in the processing of this plan that aims to solve the problems arising from the absence of planning instruments that harmonize the uses compatible with the values of the space and adapt them to the purposes of protection and conservation of the Natural Park, explained the island councilor of Land Management and Territorial Policy, Jesús Machín. "The main challenge of the PRUG of the Natural Park, a strategic document, is to establish a clear consensus framework for the management of the park that combines the conservation of natural habitats with the sustainable development of its population centers," clarifies the councilor.
The previous PRUG was approved in 2006, but was annulled in June 2016 by a ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands, confirmed in December 2017 by the Supreme Court, due to the lack of the mandatory Plan for the Management of Natural Resources, PORN, a planning that the Government of the Canary Islands approved in June 2024. "We have done our job and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that the management of the Chinijo Archipelago, as well as the Special Plan of La Geria, are not overturned by the courts of justice," said Jesús Machín.
Without planning there is no effective environmental protection
For his part, the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote has welcomed this new advance in the territorial planning of the island. "This Government group not only has sustainability as its banner, but also puts in place the necessary mechanisms for the planning of the island," said Oswaldo Betancort.
According to Law 4/207 of the Land, any instrument of territorial, environmental and urban planning of public initiative requires a prior process of citizen participation that will last one month and in which citizens, groups, associations, etc., may participate through the web portal of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and expose their proposals on the use and management of the Natural Park.
The Natural Park of the Chinijo Archipelago includes the Riscos de Famara and part of the plains of the Jable of the island of Lanzarote, the island of La Graciosa, the islets of Alegranza and Montaña Clara, and the Roques del Oeste and del Este, as well as the marine area between the islets and the north coast of Lanzarote. It is a space of great ecological and cultural value, so it is absolutely necessary to preserve its biodiversity and natural landscapes.