WRITTEN QUESTION P-2953/97 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (10 September 1997)

Subject: Protection of the Montaña Tindaya and its surroundings (Canary Islands)

On the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) there is a mountain known as Montaña Tindaya. It is of major cultural, ethnographic, archaeological, natural and geological interest and has been declared a 'national

monument' under the laws on protected areas in the Canary Islands, an 'artefact of cultural interest' under the law on Spain's historical heritage (since it is the site of pre-hispanic engravings of major importance) and a 'place of geological interest' by the Spanish Technological Mining Institute.

Furthermore, the mountain hosts a population of the species caralluma burchardii, a plant endemic to the Canary Islands and found on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and one which is included in Annex II to Council Directive 92/43/EEC ((OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7. )), the 'Habitat' directive.

According to a recent report by the head of the Department of Plant Biology within La Laguna University's Faculty of Pharmacy, Mrs Esperanza Beltrán Tejera, a population of the species in question is located on Montaña Tindaya within an area described as being of 'major value in terms of landscape and the presence of endemic plants', and also as being extremely vulnerable. The report recommends 'total conservation and future rehabilitation not just of this species but also of the entire range of natural vegetation, which is currently in a severely damaged state' - referring to Montaña Tindaya.

However, mining activity is currently going on in the area and the Canary Islands Government has commissioned the sculptor Eduardo Chillida to erect a sculpture inside the mountain after having first excavated it in order to create an internal cube measuring 50 × 50 × 50 metres. Such activities are in direct conflict with the Tindaya conservation objectives and, according to ecologists and law experts, are clearly illegal and will damage the mountain and all it represents.

Is the Commission aware of these facts, and is it willing to take an interest in the above-mentioned report published by La Laguna University?

Does the Commission consider the conservation of Montaña Tindaya, and in particular the caralluma burchardii population, to be compatible with the mining activities and the erection of a sculpture which will inevitably involve further extraction work, soil removal, tunnelling and intense human pressure on the area, etc.?

Does the Commission consider the above-mentioned threats to the mountain and the existing mining activity to be compatible with Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC?

What action is the Commission planning to take to prevent further damage to Montaña Tindaya and its surroundings?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (6 October 1997)

The Commission was recently informed of these matters by a non-governmental organisation on the Canary Islands.

The NGO's communication included a report by La Laguna University showing that 29 populations of Caralluna burchardii have been recorded on the Islands, representing an estimated total of 800 plants. The Montaña Tindaya population numbers 50.

To date, Spain has not proposed the Montaña Tindaya site for the future Natura 2000 network. The biogeographical seminar on Macaronesia considered Caralluna burchardii to be under-represented. Spain was therefore invited to propose new sites to ensure a favourable conservation status for the species.

To date, Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora does not apply to the Montaña Tindaya site. The said site has not been included on the Community list for Natura 2000, nor is it an exceptional case of a site hosting a priority species for which the Commission should initiate a consultation procedure with Spain in accordance with Article 5 of the Directive.

It therefore falls to the Spanish authorities to conserve Montaña Tindaya and its natural, cultural and geological assets.