Lanzarote is not just our home; it is a unique paradise that connects us with our roots and projects us into the future. We are inhabitants of a privileged island where it is vital to protect it every day, with small gestures, because taking care of Lanzarote is not an option, it is an unavoidable responsibility.
Local administrations, such as the San Bartolomé City Council, are firmly committed to preserving our landscape and the urban landscape of which we are a part. This philosophy is what we try to carry out from the municipality, with policies that promote respect for the landscape, the promotion of sustainable practices and the protection of our natural legacy.
Sustainability is not achieved with grandiloquent declarations, but with concrete actions, some of them, many times, from silence and quiet work. From the reduction of the use of plastics, the promotion of the circular economy and the efficient use of resources, with the commitment of the local economy and local resources that reduce CO2 emissions, to environmental education in our schools and the firm commitment to renewable energies, we must walk hand in hand towards a model that respects the limits of the island we want.
Local administrations are called upon to lead this change, but we cannot do it alone. We need the active commitment of those who live and work in this land, in addition to firmly demanding that those who have competences in this area assume their part. The insularity of Lanzarote imposes specific challenges such as facing the reduction and treatment of waste, because currently, the collection of cardboard, plastic and glass, competence of the island administration, is not working in the most efficient way and it is vital to address this problem.
Requesting and demanding more resources is not an act of complaint, but of responsibility. It is time to legislate with a vision of the future, to promote sustainable transport and promote incentives for clean and efficient energies. Although we cannot look the other way without practicing by example, from here, from the local level.
In our municipality we are trying with initiatives such as the aesthetic ordinance with which we have been able to regulate the aesthetic aspects and conditions of the buildings in a way that highlights and values the beauty and uniqueness of Lanzarote. A fact that has not gone unnoticed, since in one of the talks by experts and TEDx ULPGC speakers, they have highlighted this regulation as a clear example of co-responsibility with the environment.
Action and perseverance have also led us to claim and clarify the competences so that obstacles can be overcome and that action is definitively taken on buildings and infrastructures that, in addition to being an eminent risk to safety, are also a permanent reminder of the human footprint with a high impact on the landscape, such as the old Maui nightclub or the disused installation of the Montaña Mina wind farm.
The path towards a sustainable future requires moving forward together. From the administrations and from the population at an early age with a conscious and responsible education. As mayor of San Bartolomé, I reaffirm the commitment of the government team to work for it. Let us follow the trail of the island that César Manrique always dreamed of.
