Many protected areas
In Spain, the environment, with the notable exception of national parks, is a regional responsibility. The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands has a proactive nature protection policy with many protected areas covering about 40% of the land. The largest protected areas are the parks, natural or rural, located mostly in high areas, while urbanization forces the protection of the coasts to be divided into many small sites: natural monuments, protected landscapes or sites of scientific interest. There are 4 national parks, 3 marine reserves, 7 biosphere reserves, 60 natural pools and 3,000 species of endemic flora and fauna. Think of getting away from the tourist complexes and paths to be able to discover villages, isolated wonders nestled in the hollow of cliffs, forests..
Tenerife alone represents one third of the protected areas. The Teide Volcano National Park is a must-see, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Garajonay Park, created in 1981, has protected the most beautiful laurel forest of the archipelago, that of La Gomera, also a World Heritage Site. On La Palma, the National Park of the Taburiente caldera protects an incredible emerging and humid crater sheltering a wide variety of luxuriant vegetation. This site, classified as a biosphere reserve, is to be discovered during multiple hikes or walks. On Lanzarote, the Timanfaya National Park is spectacularly beautiful, but besieged by tour operators. Other volcanic landscapes of the island can be admired outside the park. The islands of El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are all classified as Biosphere Reserves. The most famous dunes, those of Maspalomas in the south of Gran Canaria, have also been declared Biosphere Reserves since 2005, but suffer from the invasive tourist urbanization in the area.
Waste, energy, air quality: we can do better
In 2009, the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands created an Agency for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, and has regularly demonstrated its commitment in this area. But progress is slow. In 2018, 89% of the archipelago's energy came from fossil sources. In terms of waste management, too, the situation is far from satisfactory. There are still many illegal dumps, and not enough waste is sorted and recycled. There are major disparities between the islands: Tenerife is the worst performer, with 80% of household waste landfilled, while La Palma is the most advanced, with almost 50% of waste recycled, and an organic waste collection service. Similarly, in 2018, according to the association Ecologistas en Acción, 89% of the population of the Canary Islands was exposed to levels of air pollution exceeding World Health Organization recommendations. Air quality is impacted by the archipelago's thermal power plants, as well as road, air and sea traffic. Tourism therefore has an undeniable impact on the Canaries, but to fundamentally different degrees from one island to the next. For example, the island of La Palma, with over 81,000 visitors in 2023, is much less visited than Lanzarote (2.7 million visitors in the same year), for a slightly smaller surface area. The impacts are not comparable.
Lanzarote and the legacy of Cesar Manrique
Lanzarote is recognized as one of the pioneers of sustainable tourism. It owes this in large part to the painter and sculptor Cesar Manrique, who returned to his native island in 1966 to construct various buildings in harmony with the landscape. He also worked closely with the local government on regulations that protected Lanzarote from the ravages of tourism. In particular, he helped impose building standards and limit advertising. These efforts were recognized by UNESCO, which designated the island as a World Biosphere Reserve in 1993 - a year after Manrique died in a car accident at age 72. We wouldn't go so far as to say that Lanzarote is completely untouched by the impacts of tourism. Between 1990 and 2017, the number of visitors has increased from 760,000 to 3 million, for 150,000 residents. Not without consequences. Entire coasts are devastated by tourist urbanization, visits are often grouped, cars and buses are preferred to hiking. But beyond the luxury hotels of great capacity, Lanzarote is rather well equipped in terms of rural tourism, a nice way to enjoy its undeniable charms.
El Hierro, sustainable island
For ecological innovations, it is certainly towards El Hierro that you should turn. The smallest island in the Canary Islands is a pioneer in renewable energy. The result of more than 30 years' work, the Gorona del Viento hydro-wind power plant, which started up in 2014, is an innovative system combining wind turbines and freshwater retention basins, with turbines that take over when the wind dies. The island, which also has solar installations, claims energy autonomy. El Hierro is also banking on the development of electric vehicles. A system of collecting domestic oils to supply a small biofuel factory has been set up.
Astrotourism and agrotourism in La Palma
Nature lovers will find their happiness in La Palma. Within its tropical forest and its volcanic landscapes, the island gathers all the plant species of the Canaries. It has been classified as a biosphere reserve since 2002. There are more than 1,000 kilometers of marked hiking trails. Here, the focus is on local and organic production, quality agritourism and a "slow" lifestyle. In Tijarafe, the Finca Autarca, created in 2007, is a permaculture research center that can be visited and also offers training. The other great attraction of La Palma is its starry sky. At its highest point, at more than 2,400 meters above sea level, the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory is considered one of the best places on earth to observe the sky. In order to preserve this asset, in 1988 the island adopted a "sky law" that regulates public lighting and atmospheric pollution. The agency Cielos La Palma (lapalma-sky.com) offers different activities around astronomy. To know: Tenerife is also covered by the "law of the sky" and has a renowned observatory.
Drought, a reality
The Canaries are no exception to climate change. The islands regularly face periods of drought. A fire ravaged some 10,000 hectares of forest on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria in August 2019. And in the summer of 2023, it was the north of the island of Tenerife that was hit via a fire considered to be the worst experienced by the island in 40 years (almost 15,000 hectares of forest ravaged). To avoid drying up their water tables and continue to meet the needs of tourists, they are relying on an innovation that was developed here: seawater desalination. There are 327 desalination plants in operation in the archipelago, making it the territory with the most desalination plants per square metre in the world. In Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, all water comes from desalination. The proportion drops slightly for Gran Canaria (86% of human consumption and 50% of total use) and Tenerife, the island with the greatest hydrological resources.
Mobilized citizens
Canarians are the first to mobilize to preserve their ecosystems. The movement Océano Limpio Tenerife, (Clean Ocean Tenerife) denounces pollution on Facebook and Instagram. For example, it has circulated an impressive video showing a beach covered with small pieces of plastic so compact that it looks like swell. The archipelago of the Canaries is indeed in the front line concerning plastic pollution. The currents bring waste from all over the Atlantic Ocean. Other organizations, such as the Foundation Canarias Recicla or Canarias Libre de Plásticos are mobilizing on this subject. Various environmental associations of the archipelago are gathered in the federation Ben Magec - Ecologistas en Acción. Among their main fights for the environment lately, is the opposition to the project of a new port in Tenerife, in the province of Santa Cruz. They also oppose the construction of new highways on Gran Canaria. If you also want to contribute to this impulse of nature protection, a little reminder of the basics: do not throw your waste on land, do not make fires in unauthorized places, do not fish wildly or do not pick rare species.
