Environmental groups have expressed concern over the impact some old and decommissioned properties are having on the environment in many of Tenerifes resorts.
(PRWEB) February 1, 2005 -- Over the last thirty years or so Tenerife has changed beyond recognition with resorts and properties for the tourist market springing up all over the island. Some of the original buildings are now coming to the end of their natural life and it is this demise that has thrown up a number of environmental issues that are causing alarm amongst local ecologists.
One local campaigner said: we are beginning to see the consequences of the building boom of the 1970s and 80s. Cheap resorts were thrown up left right and centre to cater for the burgeoning tourist industry with no thought for the future. Today these properties are starting to moulder away, the waste systems are decrepit and it is important that those resort properties that are earmarked for demolition are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner".
This issue of waste disposal has become a hot topic of debate amongst the Tenerife authorities. At the moment the island has to deal with some 600,000 tons of domestic waste before even considering the rubbish generated by the construction and demolition companies. This volume of refuse is putting serious pressure on the existing land-fill sites and has prompted the Cabildo to instigate a special territorial waste management plan which is aimed at reducing volume, increasing and promoting recycling and generating creative solutions to the problems.
With the downturn in tourist numbers the contention that locals should be more responsible for the ecological health and aesthetic image of the environment is a notion that has gained much credence in recent times. There have been calls for enforced completion of properties both in the resorts and also in rural areas where bare, breeze-block dwellings are unsightly additions to the natural landscape. Also there have been advertising campaigns to encourage the responsible disposal of industrial and construction rubbish rather than the fly tipping that currently spoils the natural ravines and open spaces of the south coast.
Whatever the impact that these new initiatives have on the immediate future of Tenerife it is clear that a sustained policy for the environment is vital to the continued health of this unique and beautiful island. Recycling, legal disposal of waste and accountable dismantling of the resort properties that are no longer in service will go a long way in preserving the delicate ecology of the region.
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