The big problem is the government and all those associated don’t see whats being destroyed in front of their eyes.
Fernandez-Palacios says that “the place for tourists is in the hotel” and calls for a more sustainable development model.
José Maria Fernandez-Palacios, a researcher from the Canary Islands who has dedicated himself to studying the Macaronesian Laurissilva, warns of the impact of “mass tourism” on the Madeira Laurissilva forest, a problem he says is common to the Canary Islands archipelago.
For the professor at the University of La Laguna, “the place for tourists is in the hotel”, referring to the need for assertive management of the natural asset that has been considered a World Heritage Site since 1999.
Fernandez-Palacios is one of the guest speakers at the conference marking the 25th anniversary of this consecration, on the sidelines of which he told journalists that the Macaronesian Laurissilva is, in general, in a “bad state”, pointing out the cases of the forests of Madeira and La Gomera as exceptions, but that they could be put at risk if an appropriate development model is not adopted.