Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Evening patrols deployed at Maspalomas dunes
The Cabildo of Gran Canaria stepped up its daily surveillance of the Maspalomas Dunes Special Nature Reserve on Friday with a dedicated operation deployed at sunset, one of the busiest times for visitor traffic. Around ten officers took part, including environmental agents, the Civil Guard through its SEPRONA nature protection unit, the Canarian Police and the Local Police of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, with support from a drone unit provided by the latter.
Officers focused mainly on guiding visitors away from exclusion and restricted areas and directing them towards designated paths, in order to minimise the impact on the ecosystem’s flora and fauna.
Multilingual announcements trialled
Raúl García Brink, the Cabildo’s Minister for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge, said the protection and conservation work carried out over many years has now been reinforced with a public address system at the Mirador de las Dunas viewpoint. García Brink described it as a pilot initiative that plays messages at dawn and dusk in Spanish, English and German, reminding visitors to the area of the importance of respecting the rules and contributing to its conservation.
“We continue to strengthen measures to protect a space as fragile and unique as the Maspalomas Dunes,” he said, adding that preserving the site also depends on the cooperation and responsible behaviour of those who visit it.
Peak visitor numbers prompt new measures
Since 26 August, the public address system installed by SODETEGC at the Mirador de las Dunas has been operating at dawn and dusk, two of the busiest periods at the nature reserve. Sensors from the Impulsa Maspalomas project have detected that around a thousand people pass through the area daily during these windows. The system, currently in its pilot phase, broadcasts awareness messages in Spanish, English and German every 15 minutes between 7.30am and 10.00am and from 6.00pm to 9.00pm.
The message reminds visitors that they are in a protected natural area and urges them to help preserve it by using only the authorised paths and following the signs. It closes with an appeal for collective responsibility.
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