Podemos Lanzarote does not support the regional Executive's intentions to carry out different actions, such as improving the accessibility and signage of 11 tidal pools, with the aim of making them more attractive to tourists and visitors through a Master Plan that the purple party, despite being part of the Government of the Canary Islands, considers "incompatible" with the Climate Emergency situation declared by the autonomous Executive and the Island Council two years ago.
The pools selected by the department led by Yaiza Castilla (ASG) are the one known as Charco de La Laja, the Charco de la Novia or Caletón Blanco, - both in Órzola -, the Charco de Montaña Bermeja and 8 pools spread over two areas of Los Charcones (Yaiza). Throughout the Canary Islands, the number of pools to be intervened is 117.
The insular purple formation explains that it had access to the document entitled Tidal Pools Master Plan dated June of this year in which it details the interventions that they intend to carry out in the pools with the greatest "tourist potential" according to the criteria of the General Directorate of Tourist Infrastructure.
This document proposes projects that, in the opinion of Podemos Lanzarote, are "environmentally aberrant" such as the construction of two parking areas in two areas near Los Charcones, one next to the one known as the "abandoned hotel" and another further north next to the dirt road that gives access to the pools of Cueva Grande, Cueva Pequeña and Piedra Alta. "Both car parks would add up to a total area of 4,000 square meters and could accommodate about 320 vehicles. Elevated platforms are also planned for the pools in the southern area as a solarium", the formation states.
For the Charco de La Laja, in Órzola, Podemos states that "numerous elevated platforms, a large car park of 4,500 square meters next to the old salt flats and more than 5,500 square meters of lobby and access areas" are also proposed.
According to the purple formation, these actions would be linked to advertising campaigns, promotion strategies on social networks, the creation of a tourist circuit of pools and the inclusion of these corners in GPS navigation applications such as Google Maps. "All this would allow a huge influx of people that would put at risk the delicate marine biodiversity of these spaces, as numerous experts in biology have warned", he adds.
In this regard, he points out that in statements to the media, biologist Pablo Martín focused on the problem that this project is going to generate "in spaces that are the breeding grounds for many species and that will be affected by human contamination, since the simple fact of using sunscreen implies a very important alteration of the water".
Podemos Lanzarote also highlights the great "ignorance of the current functioning of the island" that emerges from the document they have had access to, since it classifies Los Charcones as "unknown places with little influx", spaces that "are currently already very crowded".
Citizen rejection
The purple formation points out that in recent weeks there have been numerous viral contents on social networks against this intervention in the pools of all the Canary Islands. "Environmental and scientific groups, as well as young ecologists, have been warning for days, both on networks and in the media, of the danger of facilitating the massification of these fragile spaces", he points out.
In this regard, he indicates that the latest initiative to try to stop what many consider an "irreparable damage" is a collection of signatures that proposes to reduce the number of pools to be intervened and that an environmental impact report be made for each pool area that is intended to be modified, which already has almost 12,000 signatures collected.
Limit to tourist activity
"Since 2017, the islands have been experiencing years of tourist record, an activity that was severely affected by the health crisis and that this year is being resumed strongly", they point out from the purple formation, from where they indicate that "this activity is leaving worrying images of massification" that Podemos Canarias assures that "puts at risk not only the tourist activity itself but also the sustainability, the external image and even the labor rights and the quality of life of residents".
Faced with this situation, Podemos Canarias affirms that its objective "is to protect spaces of tranquility and disconnection for the people residing in the islands, who, according to what they assure, also have the right to rest in their own home and to enjoy their environment without massifications".
