The predoctoral researcher of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Alberto Ucero, shared through the Frente de Lanzarote platform a video to denounce the existence of "illegal 4x4 routes" on the island, "which affect the environment."
"You can see up to 18 4X4 SUVs going up a slope, many of them off-road, going at speeds that are not allowed, burning clutches and making noise during the nesting season of protected species, even appreciating how some of the cars have their wheels buried preventing their advance", he points out.
Ucero states that this group of vehicles met "last Sunday", being seen "for the first time in Tao" according to what they have told him, then heading "to the area of extraction of aggregates from Muñique, where on previous occasions they have been seen entering and leaving the holes in the quarries".
The video shows the crossing of the dirt road that comes from the Muñique sandpit exploitation and continues with the ascent of the vehicles along the hill that connects with the Villa de Teguise according to the predoctoral researcher of the CSIC, who states that these vehicles "crossed a protected space", specifically "the Special Protection Area for Birds (ES0000040), Northern Islets of Lanzarote and Famara".
The researcher considers that "these people could incur in several administrative sanctions, some of them included in the ordinances of Teguise and others in regional laws such as Law 4/2017, of July 13, on Land and Protected Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands"
In this regard, he points out that the latter, in its article 392, pronounces on acts in protected natural spaces or their peripheral protection zones, stating that “it is classified as a minor infraction and will be sanctioned with a fine of 600 to 6,000 euros for the circulation, stopping or parking of vehicles outside the tracks authorized for this purpose”. Likewise, he points out that, in point 3, “as a minor infraction” is included, with “a fine of 150 to 600 euros”, the “alteration of the conditions of a protected natural space through the emission of noise” and “any other act prohibited by the plans and regulations of protected natural spaces, as well as non-compliance with the conditions provided for in the administrative title for authorized acts”.
Claims to institutions to increase surveillance to "put an end" to these practices
Alberto Ucero assures that "these illegal practices are common" and considers that the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Teguise City Council "must put an end to them through increased surveillance", as well as "give an outlet to people who like to carry out this type of activities by creating a legal circuit for 4x4 cars, buggies, motorcycles and quads in some degraded peri-urban-industrial area".
"Under no circumstances can these attacks against our natural heritage and the species that inhabit it be allowed and normalized. We are no longer talking about breaking the law. These people are selfishly trampling on the right of other citizens to enjoy nature responsibly and from the admiration it deserves, says the predoctoral researcher of the Higher Council for Scientific Research.
However, Alberto Ucero clarifies that "the entire sector cannot be criminalized, since, as is logical, there are people with this type of vehicle who do respect the regulations and who do not share the attitude of their 'colleagues', who tarnish the image of lovers of 4x4s, buggies, motorcycles and quads with this type of act that is repeated frequently, although a video as paradigmatic as this is not always recorded".
Finally, this researcher points out that "if the population witnesses this type of act, they can call 112 so that some authority can go to the place". "In the event that there is no time for the patrol to arrive, another valid test is a video recording noting the license plates", adds Ucero, who considers that "in these cases citizen collaboration is essential".
