court halts cuna del alma tenerife project

Court Halts Part of Tenerife’s Cuna del Alma Project

Court Orders Precautionary Halt to Part of Controversial Project

The environmental NGO Greenpeace has welcomed a judicial decision, announced on Thursday, to provisionally halt part of the works on the controversial Cuna del Alma tourism project in Puertito de Adeje, Tenerife. However, it has called for the complete suspension of the development due to its severe environmental and social impacts. This project has already accumulated several partial stop-work orders, a fine for destroying highly valuable archaeological heritage, and numerous complaints over alleged irregularities.

Greenpeace Demands Full Stop and Restoration

The environmental organisation reacted to the ruling from the Court of Instruction number 1 in Arona, which ordered work to stop on one section of the project. The court considered that the planned actions would be difficult to reconcile with the Coastal Law. Greenpeace pointed out that the judicial measure, which affects only a limited part of the project (barely 5%), is insufficient and insisted on the need to completely halt the urbanisation and restore the affected area.

In this regard, the Greenpeace spokesperson in the Canary Islands, Kilian López, warned that Cuna del Alma is a sad paradigm of the relationship between private interests and some public administrations, which in his opinion poses a threat to biodiversity and natural spaces. “But it is not enough to avoid installations in the protection zone: the entire project should be scrapped and the area restored,” stated López, who appealed for public mobilisation to reverse the environmental impact.

Project Featured in Report on Coastal Threats

The organisation recalled that it already included this project in its annual report on the effects of urban development on the coast, which warned of tourism initiatives affecting the Teno-Rasca Special Area of Conservation (ZEC). It also indicated that the urbanisation of Puertito de Adeje is among the examples of threats to biodiversity in areas of high ecological value, considering it a response to an unsustainable tourism model.

Criminal Investigation Underway

The court agreed to the precautionary halt of works in a specific area of the project, equivalent to a small part of the total plot, while proceedings are carried out to determine if a possible crime against land use planning and the environment has been committed. The measure was adopted at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and environmental groups, who understand that the planned uses in the affected area could violate coastal regulations.

For their part, complainant groups such as Tagoror Permanente Rotativo, La Gaveta 20A, and Rebelión Científica Canarias noted that the judicial decision represents “a radical change of scenario.” This is because it is a measure adopted within the framework of a criminal procedure, after appreciating indications of possible illegality and risk of irreparable damage to the territory. In their view, the intervention opens a phase with potential legal consequences for the authorised actions.

The organisations emphasised that the partial halt implies the opening of investigative proceedings and new evidence. They stated they will continue working to ensure the entire project is analysed and, where appropriate, responsibilities are determined.

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