A year and a half after the eruption, the new volcano of La Palma and its flows continue to be unprotected territory. The excavators that open new paths are destroying lava emission points associated with volcanic tubes that are “unique in the world”, according to what the scientists responsible for preparing the map of special protection areas report to EL PAÍS.
«The volcano can be profitable»
Carmen Romero, geographer at the University of La Laguna, has been studying Canarian volcanoes for 40 years. Among all historical eruptions, he says, this is "the first in which there is the possibility of doing things differently taking into account all voices." «It is obvious that new houses must be made for all those who lost them and the territory must be restructured, but it is being done without respect, as if the volcano and the lava flows were a wasteland. But this volcano belongs to the island's own inhabitants and can be made profitable. We have a clear example in Caños de Fuego, where a volcanic tunnel from the San Juan eruption in 1949 has been preserved," he details. «We have to ask ourselves if all the land that was urbanized and has been razed should return to the same use. Maybe it wasn't planned well. Now it is possible to rethink the recovery model," he adds.