The Minister of Environment of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Elena Solís, has completed the first phase of the participatory process opened to address the future of Famara, which has left several proposals on the table and a clear idea: the town needs “certain instruments to avoid total collapse, and one of them is to regulate traffic”.
According to the Minister, one of the points that was raised was the need to close the road that runs along the beach, and even the alternative of enabling shuttle buses to get there was considered; or special cars, such as buggies, to transport the surfboards and so that “they can continue going to where the wave is”.
In addition, the proposal that has been made for years to build one or two parking lots, so that private vehicles do not enter the beach, was also addressed. However, this option would not be easy either. “It does not seem that there is public land available in Caleta”, the Minister explained on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, specifying that the parking lot would have to be “on the outskirts, to be outside the core” of the population.
That is precisely why the option of enabling alternative public transport to reach the beach was also considered, especially in the case of surfers and surf schools, who must access it with their equipment. However, Solís insists that for now it is only an idea under study.
"Find another way to get to Caleta de Famara and Los Noruegos"
“We are not talking about design because the idea of the workshops was to say what future scenario we want, what scenario we do not want and see if we continue like this what will happen”, she explained, stressing that there is still no decision on what the model will be.
Now, all those ideas raised in the meetings, in which the residents and different affected sectors have participated, will be studied by the Cabildo, together with the City Council of Teguise, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Directorate of Coasts, which has the powers over the road that connects La Caleta and the area of Los Noruegos and over the area of El Rincón, affected by the maritime-terrestrial domain.
Regarding that road, the Minister does not rule out the closure. “The sand is constantly moving and we believe that it is enough to try to fight against the system. And one of the possibilities would be, which does not mean that it is the final idea, to let the sand finish with the central track a little and find another way to get to Caleta de Famara and Los Noruegos”, she said.
This option has been demanded for years by environmental groups, which warn of the deterioration that this space is suffering, although it is not free of controversy. For the moment, Solís says that she has commissioned a load study, and an urban planning and architecture agency will prepare a report proposing “what the solutions could be”. “But what is clear is that we have to have a parking lot on the outskirts of one of the population centers or both”, she added.
Even so, she then also clarified that even that “remains to be seen”, since in addition to the lack of public land, they will have to analyze “all the legal parameters” and get the financing. “I am confident in finding funds”, she added.
“We are killing a unique dune system in Europe”
Regarding the first phase of the participatory process that has just concluded, Solís explained that to carry it out they hired a specialized company, which will deliver the final results on April 15, and from there they will begin to address the solutions.
“My main objective was to ask the citizens to comment on what they want to regulate that space and help protect what we have in Famara, which is a unique place because obviously apart from the beach, it is an area with high values at the level of flora and protected species, such as birds and others”, the Minister recalled.
“We have to remember that we have a dune system that is unique in Europe, a system that we are also killing. It is important that this dune system continues, because among other things it will supply sand to the east coast of Lanzarote”, she warned.
Proposal to create a Famara Council with the residents
In addition, other issues were also addressed in those meetings, such as the sewerage problems in the Los Noruegos area and “the lack of regulation of vacation homes”. In the opinion of the Minister, the meetings have been marked by the “good harmony” between the participants and, in particular, between the residents of the two population centers.
In fact, the intention is that now those residents organize themselves into a platform or “into something more permanent, such as a Famara Council”. “I have proposed that within the Biosphere Reserve there are what are the Local Councils, which are not constituted in Lanzarote”, she explained, pointing out that it could also be done in La Graciosa and in other areas.
In this first participatory round, the need to raise awareness was also raised. “The flora is not only crushed by cars, sometimes it is uprooted for lack of knowledge to make bonfires”, she pointed out, explaining that “an important part” will be in that work of raising awareness about the natural values of Famara, “in addition to maintaining the identity of Caleta, because it is very blurred”.
For that, several proposals also came out: “The people there feel in some way increasingly cornered by tourism and visitors, who of course have a place, but they felt that they had to value a little the point of view of the intangible heritage, of the identity of Famara, and it was proposed for example an interpretation center of the jable, of traditional fishing, because Famara was originally a traditional fishing village, and of interpretation of water, highlighting the first galleries and public water systems that were in El Risco”.
