Tenerife Faces Conservation Crisis Amid Surge in Tourism Overcrowding
A Tenerife-based nature guide is calling for stricter enforcement and mandatory environmental education to combat the ecological damage caused by surging tourism in the island's protected landscapes.
Managing Tenerife’s natural spaces has reached a turning point as the island struggles to balance a surge in tourism with the urgent need to protect its biodiversity. A nature guide based in Los Silos recently warned that overcrowding is damaging the island’s environmental heritage, noting that the issue is now hindering her own professional work.
The guide, who leads the Navaea project—named after a local plant—argues that current regulations for fragile areas like Teide National Park and the Anaga Massif are ineffective without active enforcement. She believes that overcrowding not only degrades ecosystems but also ruins the experience for visitors who come specifically to learn about nature and heritage away from mass tourist crowds.
Beyond stricter rules, she emphasizes that environmental education is vital for long-term conservation. She proposes making environmental studies a mandatory part of the school curriculum, arguing that people often know more about foreign ecosystems than their own, which prevents them from truly valuing their local environment. Her own business model reflects these values by prioritizing local goods and services to ensure tourism directly supports the community.
Her career, which focuses on landscape interpretation, birdwatching, and local culture, highlights a growing trend of women taking leadership roles in a traditionally male-dominated sector. Her work aims to bridge the gap between economic success and ethical responsibility, calling for an urgent shift in how we manage human impact on Tenerife’s protected landscapes.