And Climate refuge is a natural or urban area that offers benign environmental conditions To protect yourself from an unfavorable context, such as excess heat, water scarcity, poor access to adequate habitat, etc.
We can Find climatic shelters in a park, a walk or a rambla with woodland and area of Fuentes and in general in all places where you have access to water sources of watersuch as a river or a beach.
Las Conditions of each climate refuge determine whether they benefit one more species or another – including the human – depending on the needs of each one. There are some that are versatile and others that cover very specific needs of the species that inhabit them.
Impulse to climatic shelters in the Canary Islands
As Zapata explainedthe implementation of climatic shelters in different islands of the archipelago “It is a priority axis within the regional policy of adaptation to climate change and improvement of urban resilience.”
To which he explained that these are spaces “that offer environmental conditions that allow them to protect themselves from Extreme weather phenomena, such as heat waves, whose frequency and intensity will increase significantly in the Canary Islands during the next decades, ”according to climatic projections.
In this way, to support local entities in the design of these spaces, it is working “in the elaboration of a technical guide with Recommendations for the creation of green areas as climatic shelters, which will be distributed among the municipalities, councils and professional associations“, Since these spaces” must meet certain surface requirements, tree coverage and pavement to guarantee a thermal mitigation effect. “
Along these same lines, he explained that among the actions already underway, “the Sustainable Park of Piedra Duñada, in the Guide of Isora, with an investment of 877,913 euros, and The future climate refuge in the port of Tazacorte, currently in the process of writing the project.
In addition, he said that have granted subsidies for projects with the municipalitiessuch as the peri -urban park of Huerta Nueva in Santa Cruz de la Palma, contributing 1,000,000 euros, whose project is already written, the sustainable urban park and Refugio Tuscal-Longuera climate, in the realejos, in the process of writing and with an investment by the Ministry of 1,225,718 euros.
The big garden, a productive forest project in high mountain with shade, trails and interpretation pointslocated in Vilaflor de Chasna in the process of execution or the reconditioning of the South Park in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, with a total of 143,102 euros.
Likewise, Zapata said before the Plenary of the Regional Chamber, “numerous public health studies warn that The islands have high exposure to urban climate risk, Due to the combination of factors such as high population density in coastal areas, demographic aging and the shortage of accessible natural spaces ”, so that shelters climatic become “an urgent measure to guarantee the right to inhabit safe and healthy spaces.”
In this way, he informed that the Ministry works with the hand of key areas “such as the Ministry of Education, Profession infrastructure that allow mitigation of heat impact on vulnerable people.