The Congress of Deputies has approved the Non-Law Proposal (PNL), proposed by the Government of Spain, to request UNESCO to declare World Caves and the Subterranean World Day for June 6 for discussion in the Industry and Tourism Commission.
The proposal was defended by the deputy in Congress and Coordinator in the Canary Islands of the parliamentary groups of Congress and Senate, María Dolores Corujo, who cited the importance of the Cueva de los Verdes for the history of the island's population as an example.
The general secretary of the PSOE in Lanzarote has pointed out that the initiative to declare June 6 as World Caves and Subterranean World Day is "important as a way to preserve and disseminate its importance at a global level and allow the development of rural areas in our country and the generation of employment and economic activity in natural environments, also ensuring the correct exploitation of the cavities".
Corujo stressed during her speech that La Cueva de los Verdes served as a refuge for the aboriginal population against pirate incursions from the African coasts since the Middle Ages. Together with the Jameos del Agua, it is part of a volcanic tube that ends under the sea, in what is known as the Tunnel of Atlantis. Both underground formations were conditioned by the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the work team of César Manrique, becoming a key piece of the island's identity as a tourist product, in addition to generating quality employment and providing significant income to the island institution.
In addition, they house a large collection of scientific instruments that have provided data of extraordinary value to the CSIC and the international scientific community, with special emphasis on the case of the Institute of Natural Risks of the People's Republic of China.
"Since prehistoric times, the human species has maintained an intimate relationship with caves, chasms, galleries and, in general, with the subterranean world. As a result of this intense relationship between the human species and caves, and perhaps because of the atavistic memory that accompanies them, they retain their magic and in many cases have become authentic poles of attraction for developing different cultural and leisure activities, in many cases representing a tourist attraction of extraordinary importance," Corujo said.
