The Council of Ministers approved the agreement so that the headquarters of the future “National Center of Volcanology” consortium will be located on the island of La Palma, complementing the scientific and innovation ecosystem of Tenerife.
This was announced by the Minister of Politics … Territorial Memory and Democracy, the section on which the file is based, is Ángel Víctor Torres, who highlighted that “the infrastructure requested in 2021 for the Canary Islands has been identified and will become a global reference in knowledge, scientific study and risk prevention, because it is located in an active area.”
On 24 October, the one-month period for submitting nominations ended, and the only nomination was submitted jointly by the La Palma Island Council and the Tenerife Island Council.
The Advisory Committee, which met on December 1, approved the opinion submitted by the candidates, recommending its location on the island of La Palma, complemented by the scientific and innovation ecosystem of Tenerife, and submitted it to the Council of Ministers, which today approved this agreement.
In this decision, the Government estimated that the Canary Islands are the only Spanish territory with active volcanic activity and with a history of volcanic risk management, highlighting the 2021 eruption of the Tajugaite volcano, Cumbre Vieja, on the island of La Palma, and for this reason providing opportunities for research on the ground, from a scientific and social point of view, to address the externalities associated with them, in terms of solving real problems of regional planning, emergency planning, risk communication and civil and security protection. Vital economic sectors.
The agreement highlights that the nomination provides a unique opportunity to transform our country into a world leader in comprehensive management of volcanic phenomena in volcanically active areas, enhance knowledge exchange between research groups and enhance scientific cooperation, with the aim of increasing its international standing and contributing to the development of volcanic areas.
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