Nature and landscape

Vegetation
Due to its formation and location, La Palma has some unique landscapes.  La Palma is also known by the nicknames La Isla Bonita and La Isla Verde, because of the vegetation that covers it.  The island not only receives water through precipitation, but also through horizontal rain.

The trade winds bring clouds laden with water up to the summits of the island, forming mists.  The vegetation, especially the laurel, condenses the mists, producing the phenomenon known as horizontal rain.  An example of use of this in plant species is the case of the Canary Island pine.  Their leaves, in the form of needles, act as a filter capacitor and let the mist fall on the foot of the tree.

The island is divided into different vegetation zones, from the lava fields to the laurel forests, passing through areas of pine forests, thermophilic vegetation, and coastal vegetation summit. Among the plants that grow on the island, 170 are endemic to the Canary Islands, such as the Pino Canario and the Palmera Canaria.  The bejeque is also a Canarian endemic species. The vegetation can be divided into a series of floors, the floors being differentiated on the sides of the island.  It  is usually drier in the east than in the west, and also drier in the south than in the north.

Landscapes

The landscape of the island is composed of four main colors; the black basalt and lava solidified in the form of Malpais, the red volcanic tuff, the dense green vegetation, and the eternal blue of both the Atlantic Ocean and the clean sky.  From north to south on the island, with higher prevalence in the northern half, deep ravines are filed into the mountains from the water running through them.

In the northern and central forests there is pine-heath, laurel in the northeast, and in the south-southwest there is volcanic soil due to the recent volcanic activity.  This is but a slight approximation of all that makes it a beautiful island with spectacular landscapes, such as the sea of clouds or the majestic slopes of the interior of the Caldera, among many others.

Nature
Above all, the National Park of the Caldera, located in the center north of the island, has magnificent views.  This coincides with the geographical features in La Caldera, 7 km from the axis. Roque de La Caldera is a continuous flow of water in the Canary Islands. Regarding vegetation, Pino Canario is king across almost all of the Caldera.

La Palma has the important tourist attraction of Los Volcanes Road, which crosses the southern half of the island through the mountain ridge.  It crosses a huge extinct volcano surrounded by a series of spectacular volcanic landscapes.

Natural pools called The Fajana, located in the municipality of Barlovento, are among the highlights of La Palma.  The pools are made of salt water coming entirely from the beach that is right next door.  This set has six swimming pools, located at different levels with ladders to facilitate one’s movement between them.  It originally had three levels, but since 2004 another three levels have been added.

Since 1983, Unesco lists the laurel forest of Los Tilos as a Biosphere Reserve.  In 2002 this statement was extended throughout the island. La Palma, Canary Islands was the first to be named such a place. On the other hand there is the Parque Nacional de la Caldera and other environments subject to different forms of conservation as set out in the Network of Protected Natural Spaces, Canarias.

Nature threatened
Canarias Government approved the Special Land Use Plan Turistico La Palma (PTE), which includes the construction in the coming years of four to five golf courses with eighteen holes, along with their respective hotels and luxury villas.  One of them, Aridane Golf, invades a protected natural area, the Protected Landscape Tamanca that is also a Place of Community Interest (SCI).

With several endemic species of flora and fauna in danger of extinction the project, therefore, has two adverse judgments of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Canarias (TSJC). The other golf course projects also affect SCIs, SPAs (Special Protection Areas for birds) and nature reserves.

The document also allows TEP to build more marinas and hotels for conventional tourism on the coastal wilderness areas.  Thousands of claims against such plans have been filed, stating the plans not only go against the general interests of the town of La Palma, but they are against the objectives of the World Biosphere Reserve La Palma.  Objectors also claim sustainable tourism should respect nature; the plans by the PTE bring tourism that directly harms the protected natural areas and endemic species of flora and fauna, making them in danger of extinction.

Regrettably, the people have rejected all allegations without any reasoned response.  More recently, the Canary Islands Government has approved the Law on Urgent Measures on Management of Tourism, through its amendments thirty-nine and forty, which allows the construction of tourist infrastructure in the interior of protected natural areas.  This is in contravention of environmental laws of the Canary Islands, Spain and the European Union.

Biologists of the Reserve of La Palma have warned of the poor condition of the seabed, due to over-fishing, which continues to use low gears and pots that are selective and aggressive. The most direct consequence of the lack of control of fisheries is the proliferation of the sea urchin de Lima, that is now a scourge destroying the algae cover, leaving behind a barren Blanquizal.  The creation of a marine reserve has been used to recover Fuencaliente, the coastline having the most important populations of fish, but fishermen, lurking within its boundaries, do not allow the recovery of other adjacent areas.  Other threats could worsen the current situation of coastal palm projects in ports and marinas, including increasing urbanization of the coast (Charco Verde for example.)