PUERTO DEL ROSARIO (FUERTEVENTURA), 12 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Government of the Canary Islands has presented on Saturday the project to create a seed bank that will allow the recovery of ancient crops in the gavias of Guisguey, one of the most emblematic and recognizable landscapes of Fuerteventura.
These agricultural structures, which combine tradition, culture, and identity heritage of the majoreros, can be improved and adapted to the 21st century with new technologies.
The Canary Government’s commitment was presented in Puerto del Rosario in a new edition of ‘Rutas 2030’, a project framed within the Responsible Islands Lab (IRLab).
With this initiative, the regional government continues with the development of the Canary Agenda 2030 and one of its most participatory proposals, the ‘Rutas 2030’, which have been scheduled by the Vice-Ministry of the Presidency’s Cabinet to connect the traditional sectors of rural areas with science, innovation, and technological development.
The aim is to prevent population loss in these areas and, at the same time, maintain the identity of the islands through their most deeply rooted customs and traditions, such as agriculture linked to the gavias and water use in Fuerteventura.
In this regard, the Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion, and Water, Manuel Miranda, emphasized that this island is «especially fragile in a context of environmental and climatic vulnerability such as the Canary Islands,» and the gavias are «a demonstration of creative, effective, and sustainable response to adverse conditions.»
Miranda believes that Guisguey is «an example of resilience in the face of scarcity of a key element for survival, such as water.»
In his view, what the residents of this area have done through the gavias for many years «is an example of harmony with the natural environment and the use of resources to develop a system that has allowed life to endure in this place over time.»
The Minister considers that the gavias and the water culture in Fuerteventura represent «the perfect example to understand the values defended by the Canary Sustainable Development Agenda,» while also describing it as a «success» by the Government of the Canary Islands to have chosen this «representative enclave» to develop a new edition of Rutas 2030.
The meeting was also attended by the President of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Lola García, who echoed the Minister’s words emphasizing the fragility of the island’s territory, highlighting the importance of investing in projects such as the recovery of ancient seeds or adapting the gavias to the 21st century because «they have a positive impact on our landscape and our way of life.»
García thanked the Government of the Canary Islands for this initiative and «for bringing projects that bring benefits to Guisguey,» a locality, she said, with a great agricultural tradition «where residents have been concerned with preserving this important ethnographic heritage.»
She noted that the locality and its surroundings have about 1.5 kilometers of gavias.
On the other hand, the Mayor of Puerto del Rosario, David de Vera, emphasized the importance of applying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) «locally, in everyday life, and with the involvement of residents.»
In this sense, he pointed out that the community of Guisguey «has shown that sustainable transformation is not exclusive to large cities but begins at the closest level.»
He insisted that this locality in Puerto del Rosario is a «reference on how to progress towards a more participatory, fair, and ecological model through the application of the SDGs and in this case, through involvement in the recovery of traditional cultivation areas of Fuerteventura such as the gavias.»
The Mayor appreciated that ‘Rutas 2030’ celebrates this edition in Guisguey, an initiative, he said, «that lands the Agenda 2030 in the heart of our towns.»
CHALLENGES FOR GUISGUEY
In the case of the challenges presented by ‘Rutas 2030’ in Guisguey, the first one is related to ‘The gavias in the 21st century: incorporation of new technologies’.
As explained by biologist Juan Miguel Torres and councilor of Puerto del Rosario David de León, these structures represent an agricultural-hydrological system that, since the aboriginal era, allows capturing and distributing the scarce water of the island.
However, the intensification of aridity, climate change, and the increasing pressure on agricultural soils question their viability in their traditional configuration.
The challenge, they indicated, lies in analyzing how digitalization and sensorization can coexist with centuries-old infrastructures without jeopardizing their cultural integrity or their accessibility for small-scale operations, as reported by the Ministry.
They also detailed the challenge of reconciling heritage and environmental regulations with the introduction of devices and communication networks.
The second challenge presented refers to the recovery of ancient seeds cultivated in the gavias of Guisguey.
In this regard, Torres and De León highlighted that in this area of Fuerteventura, there are historical references to local varieties of cereals and legumes.
Their progressive loss poses a threat to both the agrogenetic biodiversity of Fuerteventura and the cultural memory linked to the agricultural landscape, they emphasized.
Faced with this situation, the challenge is to identify the real extent of genetic erosion, quantify the existing varietal richness, and understand the factors that have accelerated their disappearance, from changes in production systems and field abandonment to replacement by commercial crops.
In addition, there is a need to create spaces for intergenerational collaboration that allow for the collection of knowledge associated with sowing, harvesting, and conservation practices.
INNOVATIVE PROJECTS
‘Rutas 2030’ is a commitment to sustainability as a driver of innovation so that the impact of science and technology reaches the entire archipelago and an opportunity to involve rural municipalities in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The objective is to promote that the knowledge generated in companies and research and technological development centers approaches the opportunities and challenges that exist beyond the major cities of the islands because the Canary Agenda 2030 needs all the territories of the archipelago to advance equally in solving the current development challenges.
In addition to Fuerteventura, previous editions have been held in Frontera, Gáldar, Tinajo, and El Paso.
