The San Ginés festivities, patron saint of the seafaring city of Arrecife, are beginning. Every August, tradition, celebration and revelry return. Once again, El Reducto beach becomes the epicenter of the festivities. However, the city of Arrecife has more suitable spaces for holding concerts and events with large crowds.
The Arrecife Marina is "one of the most unique enclaves on the coast of the Canary Archipelago." Given its characteristics, our coastline is a space for the development of "unique communities of great scientific interest, both animals and plants, that are not easily located in other parts of the coast." An example of this is the species Zostera noltii, included in the List of Wild Species under Special Protection. I'm not saying this, this is established by the Ordinance of the Use and Management of the Arrecife Coast, approved by the capital's City Council on October 29, 2021.
If we delve into the Ordinance, article 15 establishes the prohibition of carrying out "any act that could dirty the beaches, coastline and coves, the person responsible being obliged to clean it immediately." Therefore, the question that arises for me is whether holding concerts with large crowds endangers the adequate protection of the species and, therefore, of our environment. I would like to know what the environmental reports say exactly regarding the holding of these events. Understanding that technical reports are essential for the decision-making of political leaders.
Likewise, it should be noted that article 17 prohibits "throwing or abandoning any type of waste on the beach or in the sea, such as papers, food scraps or cigarette butts." Furthermore, according to article 23, access to the beach, coastline or coves with glass containers is not allowed and smoking is prohibited, "in order to avoid the abandonment of cigarette butts in the sands of the same." However, in the last proclamation and concert, held on August 11, the total opposite has happened. According to the company that was in charge of cleaning the beach, 450 kilos of mixed waste were collected. Another fact to take into account is that, after the celebration of San Juan night, on June 24, more than 1,200 kilos of waste were collected on the beach.
On the other hand, it must be remembered that the Luis Fonsi concert, organized last year, was held in the misnamed "fairground" of Arrecife due to the refusal of the General Directorate of Coasts to hold it on El Reducto beach. The logical question is: Why wasn't it rejected this year? Well, the response from the Councilor for Festivities of the Arrecife City Council, Echedey Eugenio (CC), was that due to the recent transfer of powers in coastal matters from the State to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the idiosyncrasies of the Arrecife coastline are now taken into account. Perhaps the answer may serve to cope with a logical question, but it is certainly incoherent in itself and with the municipal Ordinance itself.
So, the third question that arises for me is: Where does the responsibility lie? Article 17 of the municipal Ordinance itself establishes that the City Council must carry out "citizen awareness campaigns" to avoid this type of action. On the contrary, very little has been done by the local corporation regarding this issue. Where are the awareness campaigns? Why is the great importance of keeping our environments clean not warned about at the festivals? Why is the natural wealth and biodiversity of great scientific importance that we have on our Arrecife coastline not taught? It should be remembered that from Lanzarote En Pie we have presented several motions in this regard, but it is evident that none has been put into practice by the government groups.
However, we must be fair: it is not solely institutional responsibility. During the proclamation held on the beach, I was able to see people smoking, throwing cigarette butts and throwing all kinds of plastics and glass, among other waste. Taking care of the environment around us is everyone's responsibility. It is not just the celebration of a simple proclamation or a concert on the privileged coast of Arrecife, criticizing the holding of events with large crowds on El Reducto beach does not mean being against the festivals, as some political groups want to make it seem, but rather talking about the protection of our environment, simply taking care of what makes us unique. I insist, it is everyone's responsibility.
