The Adeje Council has authorised the relocation of the ‘viborina triste’, a specially protected species, to pave the way for the resumption of the construction work on the Cuna del Alma tourist project in Puertito de Adeje in the south of Tenerife. This decision comes after a year and a half of halted work due to environmental concerns.
The council's decision follows the closure or expiration of three previous investigations against the project, which were initiated by the former regional government.
These investigations focused on the absence of an environmental impact study, the destruction of archaeological heritage, and threats to protected flora. The current regional administration, led by the Canary Islands Coalition (CC) and the People's Party (PP), has since addressed these issues.
Mayor José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, who has led the municipality for nearly 40 years, asserts the council’s authority to approve the relocation while the Canary Islands Government and the Tenerife Cabildo dispute jurisdiction. The council cites the 2013 Environmental Assessment Law, which empowers local entities to act when unanticipated impacts are detected during the approval process. The viborina triste was not initially included in the species catalogue for the El Puertito area.
The environmental authority of Adeje endorsed a plan almost a year ago to collect and disperse the plant’s seeds in similar habitats. This endorsement came under the tenure of Rosendo López, a biologist who resigned after it was revealed he also advised the project’s developers.
Despite objections from the Tenerife Cabildo regarding jurisdiction, both the cabildo and the regional government have acknowledged that relocating the viborina triste is an appropriate corrective measure. The council justified the project's public interest by citing a housing emergency, which allowed for exceptional treatment of protected species.
However, a report from the Vice Ministry of Ecological Transition, Climate Change, and Energy contends that the authority to issue exceptional use authorisations for protected species lies with the regional government, not local entities. This interpretation challenges the earlier decision by Deputy Minister Jorge María Riestra Sierra.
The Cuna del Alma project, led by developer Filip Hoste, aims to create 3,602 tourist accommodations, including luxury villas and hotel spaces, on a 430,000 square metre plot in Puertito de Adeje, a previously undeveloped area.
The project had faced three separate investigations: one for lacking an environmental impact assessment, another for destroying archaeological heritage, and a third for endangering the viborina triste. The first was dismissed due to a formal error, the second expired, and the third is being addressed through the approved relocation plan.
Activists, who chained themselves to the site in summer 2022 to halt construction, have repeatedly called for the project's permanent cancellation. In April, during protests against mass tourism in the Canary Islands, a group initiated a hunger strike demanding the cessation of both the Cuna del Alma project and another controversial development of a hotel in La Tejita in Granadilla de Abona.
