The Cabildo of Lanzarote approves the PORN of the Los Volcanes Natural Park

The Plenary of the Insular Council of Lanzarote and La Graciosa definitively approved, in a session held on July 9, 2026, the Natural Resources Management Plan (PORN) of the Los Volcanes Natural Park. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas, number 111, dated September 16, 2026, and will enter into force fifteen business days after its complete publication.

The protected area, located in the west of the island of Lanzarote, covers 10,158.4 hectares distributed among the municipalities of Tinajo, Yaiza, and Tías. Declared by Law 12/1987 on Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands as part of the former La Geria Natural Park, it was segregated by Law 12/1994 into two spaces: the Los Volcanes Natural Park itself (code L-3) and the La Geria Protected Landscape (code L-10).

An instrument that restores the full effectiveness of the declaration

The approval of the PORN responds to the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court (STS of December 20, 2017), according to which the declaration of a natural space protected by law loses its effectiveness if the corresponding management plan is not approved, and regains it once it is approved. The plan was processed in accordance with Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity and Law 4/2017 on Land and Protected Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands.

The document is structured into four documentary blocks:

• Information: environmental, territorial, socioeconomic, and legal reports.
• Diagnosis: environmental and territorial diagnosis reports.
• Management: justificatory report, management determinations, and economic report.
• Annexes: cartography, carrying capacity study, and responses to reports and allegations.

Processing with public participation

The draft was submitted for public information and consultation following the agreement of the Insular Government Council on June 25, 2024, being published in the BOC number 149 (July 31, 2024) and in the BOP number 9 (July 24, 2024). During the process, 16 reports from public administrations and 5 allegations were received, all of which were answered in annex III of the plan.

Among the consulted bodies are the Ministry of Defense, the Directorate General of the Coast and the Sea, the Spanish Office for Climate Change, the Insular Water Council of Lanzarote, and the affected city councils. Following the modifications derived from the reports, the Insular Government Council unanimously approved the project on June 29, 2026, prior to its submission to the Plenary.

Conservation, climate change, and gender perspective

The plan incorporates a specific section on climate change adaptation, in accordance with Law 7/2021, featuring a vulnerability diagnosis, objectives and strategic lines, mitigation actions, monitoring indicators, and an ecological connectivity plan. The gender impact report, issued on December 30, 2025, by the Equality Service of the Cabildo, was favorable.

The park’s scope coincides with areas of the Natura 2000 Network: the SPA ES0000100 La Geria and the SAC ES7010046 Los Volcanes, and borders the Timanfaya National Park, the Janubio Site of Scientific Interest, and the La Geria Protected Landscape. The agreement was signed by the Councilor for Land Use and Territorial Policy, Jesús Alexander Machín Tavío.

The entry into force of the PORN provides legal certainty to the management of the space, establishes the planning determinations that will govern the future Master Plan for Use and Management, and directly affects residents, the primary sector, and tourism activity in the area, which must adjust to the conservation and sustainable use criteria established by the plan.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas, number 111, of September 16, 2026, section III (Local Administration), page 16113 (official reference: 1893082).