The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Department of Territorial Policy, has sent a report to the municipalities of the island to warn them that organized tourist excursions in vehicles such as buggies, quads or caravan safaris are not allowed on rustic land, in accordance with current territorial and environmental regulations.
The island institution recalls, based on the current Island Planning Plan and the Canary Islands Land Law, that this type of activities represent a serious impact on the natural environment, due to the noise and dust they generate, especially in protected spaces or with relevant landscape and ecological values, and may lead to sanctioning procedures.
The Cabildo insists on the need to respect the regulations that regulate the uses of rustic land, and calls on the municipalities to reinforce the control of these practices and act diligently in the face of possible infractions. "The protection of the landscape and the sustainable management of the territory are priorities in the action of this Cabildo, and they must also be for all the agents involved in the tourist and territorial management of the island," says, emphatically, the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort.
The president points out that "tourist activity must coexist in harmony with the territory that supports it. We cannot allow the rustic land to be degraded by practices that are not authorized and that put our natural heritage at risk."
Betancort recalls that the island's development model must be guided "by the balance between environmental sustainability and economic development", and that the future of the island "depends on promoting respectful tourism, not on reproducing mass and invasive models that deteriorate what precisely attracts the visitor: our uniqueness".
Unauthorized and unregulated activity
The Councilor for Territorial Policy, Jesús Machín Tavío, has been blunt in stating that "there is no official network of routes approved for this type of activity, and until that happens, the circulation of vehicles in caravans through the natural environment is prohibited by regional regulations and the Island Plan itself".
Machín also asks the municipalities to exercise extreme control over these activities that generate a negative environmental impact and deteriorate agricultural and livestock roads. "It is not about prohibiting tourist activity, but about ordering and regulating it so that it does not cause irreversible damage to our territory. You can drive on asphalt, but not through sensitive areas or traditional roads that the town councils strive to maintain and that these vehicles destroy when passing over them," says the councilor.
It should be noted that the technical report issued by Territorial Policy states that these excursions usually travel along tracks, roads and even private farms, generating noise, dust and effects on the environment, and that the legislation is clear about this: outside an official network for motor vehicles, caravans of more than three vehicles cannot be organized.
Call for responsibility
The Cabildo of Lanzarote makes a call for responsibility from companies, visitors and citizens. "We have to act with common sense, collective responsibility and political will to safeguard the soul of Lanzarote. This island is cared for, protected and respected," concludes Oswaldo Betancort.