Garajonay National Park budgets 1,55 million euros for 2008 |
Written by Administrator |
Sunday, 10 May 2009 16:06 |
The Garajonay National Park accounts for the current fiscal year with a total of 1,55 million euros, corresponding to its Annual Plan of Investments. The budget is mainly aimed at the restoration of degraded areas within the Park, whose objectives are the recovery of native monteverde formations, the elimination of pine plantations and the recovery of endangered species. This year the Administrative Board of the Park also develops several important projects aimed at improving the system of public use of the Park: improvements in the accessibility for the disabled, works to improve the network of footpaths, including the creation of a new route in El Rejo, construction of a new viewpoint associated with the Visitors' Centre at Juego de Bolas, and adaptation of the Meriga area for visits. Development of diverse material designed to improve the information available to visitors is also envisaged: informative signs of routes, interpretive panels, the Park guide, brochures of hiking trails, and informative training programs, among other actions. In the field of research, the ecological monitoring program of Garajonay and the ethnographic study of the National Park and its environs stand out. Other actions are related to the introduction on La Gomera of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, the maintenance of the geographic information system of the Park, and the development of different plants and work projects. The Board also notes that operating expenses amount to 496.746 euros, which include, among others, the maintenance costs of the Park's facilities, the cleaning costs, and the provision for the recruitment of guides responsible for the educational and informative programs for visitors. Additionally, the Board affirms that the budget for 2008 does not include significant items such as measures for the prevention and extinction of forest fires, whose funding is done centrally by the Autonomous National Parks Agency, or subsidies for the socio-economic influence area of the National Park, which are managed by the Government of the Canary Islands. |