Managing light in all its dimensions is a complex challenge. It implies recognizing both the risks derived from improper use and the opportunities for improvement that open up in cities and territories.
Therefore, addressing this issue cannot be left in the hands of a single discipline: the interdisciplinarity of sciences and knowledge is revealed as the only way to build comprehensive, efficient and adapted responses to the global magnitude of the challenge.
In the words of the Councilor of the Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote, Samuel Martín, "in these times, marked by the urgency of rethinking our relationship with the environment, this call seeks to add voices and perspectives to illuminate a future in which respect for natural cycles is also a commitment to human and environmental well-being."
The Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote, through the declaration issued from the EQUINOX congress, proposes a collective and interdisciplinary reflection on light, a regulatory framework more sensitive to light management and a pedagogical and dissemination effort around its positive and negative impacts.
The conclusions of the meeting, held on September 18 and 19, focus on building a culture of sensible, sustainable and healthy relationship with light, which allows users better choices and more informed demands; and this, with the reinforcement of a complete, more sensible and also more flexible regulation, which is present at all levels of our administration.
The declaration also includes the importance of aligning with light transitions and cycles of light and darkness, because during the day, daily and controlled exposure to natural light provides widely demonstrated benefits for physical, mental and social health; and during the night, on the other hand, respecting the natural night environment contributes to preserving rest, biodiversity and the balance of ecosystems.