EL TURISMO COMO FACTOR DE EXPLICACIÓN DE LOS DESEQUILIBRIOS TERRITORIALES: EL EJEMPLO DE LA ISLA DE LA GOMERA

La Gomera es una de las ocho Islas Canarias, un archipiélago considerado como uno de los destinos turísticos más importantes de Europa y del mundo. Su economía se desenvolvió históricamente a través de las actividades agrarias, pero a partir de los años ochenta del pasado siglo pasó a depender del sector terciario, siendo el turismo una base económica fundamental. El modelo turístico de La Gomera ha girado en torno al tradicional binomio de «sol y playa», favoreciendo su concentración en unos pocos espacios costeros del sur, lo que ha provocado una profunda polarización territorial -desde el punto de vista económico y demográfico- entre estas localidades y el resto de entidades de la isla. La consecuencia de ello ha sido el abandono casi total del territorio insular, el cual ahora se instrumentaliza como producto de promoción turística, apoyado en la idealización del paisaje como patrimonio natural y cultural, en la presentación del mismo como un espacio bucólico que seduzca y cautive a los visitantes alojados en la costa, principales consumidores de estos espacios del interior y norte insular, pero que poco aporta a la pobre economía de los habitantes que ellos residen. La Gomera is one of the eight Canary Islands, an archipelago considered one of the most important tourist destinations in Europe and the world. Its economy was historically developed through farming activities, but from the eighties decade of the past century, it became dependent on the service sector, with tourism being a fundamental economic basis. La Gomera´s tourism model has revolved around the classic "sun and beach" combination, favoring its concentration in a few coastal areas in the south, which has led to a profound territorial polarization -from an economic and demographic point of view- between these places and the rest of the island. As a consequence, there has been an almost total abandonment of the island territory, which is now instrumentalized as a tourism promotion product, supported by the idealization of the landscape as a natural and cultural heritage, being presented as a bucolic space that seduces and captivates visitors staying on the coast, who are the main consumers of these interior and northern areas of the island, but which contributes little to the poor economy of the inhabitants residing in these areas.

Opioid use trends in Spain: the case of the island of La Gomera (2016–2019)

This study is an evaluation of prescription opioid use on the island of La Gomera, a mainly rural area, during the period 2016–2019 at various levels. Data were extracted from the wholesalers who supply the community pharmacies at the population level. Prescription opioid use was measured as defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants/day (DID) and by the number of units sold per 1,000 inhabitants and year (units sold). This provided an island total of La Gomera’s overall prescription of opioids and its rate of change, as well as differences in prescribing at the municipal and health area level. Tramadol with acetaminophen and tramadol in monotherapy were the most consumed by “units sold” parameter, which accounted for 69.48% and 18.59% of the total. The situation was similar for DID, although with lower percentages, but a significant increase was observed in the use of fentanyl and buprenorphine, around 15% in each case. The balance between the uses of weak or strong opioids was different in La Gomera compared to that of Spain as a whole. In Spain, almost 70% of the prescriptions were for weak opioids compared to 58.67% in La Gomera. Fentanyl was the most used strong opioid (16.10%) followed by tapentadol and buprenorphine, around 5% each, whereas in La Gomera, buprenorphine was the most consumed (15.75%) followed by fentanyl (14.87%) and tapentadol (5.82%). These differences in prescription opioid use are most likely explained by prescriber characteristics, whereas the population age, socioeconomic status, or living in rural/urban area are not decisive determinants.

Morphological and genetic data suggest a complex pattern of inter-island colonisation and differentiation for mining bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila: Andrena) on the Macaronesian Islands

Oceanic islands have long been considered engines of differentiation and speciation for terrestrial organisms. Here we investigated colonisation and radiation processes in the Madeira Archipelago and the Canary Islands of the Andrena wollastoni group of bees (subgenus Micrandrena), which comprises six endemic species and five endemic subspecies on the islands. Mitochondrial COI sequences support the monophyly of the four species of the Canary Islands and the two species of the Madeira Archipelago and suggest a relatively young age for all taxa. The data do not support a simple stepping-stone model (eastern-western colonisation from the mainland, with splitting into new taxa), but suggest Andrena gomerensis (extant on La Gomera and La Palma) or its ancestor as the basal lineage from which all other taxa evolved. Andrena lineolata (Tene-rife) or its putative ancestor (A. gomerensis) is sister to A. dourada (Porto Santo), A. catula (Gran Canaria), and A. acuta (also Tenerife). Andrena dourada (Porto Santo) and A. wollastoni (Madeira Island) are sister species. Morphologically and morphometrically defined subspecies were not distinguishable with COI DNA sequences. Colonisation likely led from the Canary Islands to the Madeira Archipelago and not from the mainland directly to the latter.

Las Zonas Arqueológicas en la legislación canaria de patrimonio cultural. Implicaciones para la gestión de su protección

En la actualidad, en las Islas Canarias se encuentran declarados 83 Bienes de Interés Cultural (BIC) con categoría de Zona Arqueológica (ZA). De ellos, 36 se encuentran en la isla de Gran Canaria, seguida por Tenerife con 27, Fuerteventura y La Palma con 5 zonas, el Hierro con 3, la Gomera con 2 y finalmente, Lanzarote con sólo una zona arqueológica. En este trabajo se reflejan algunas de las deficiencias en la gestión de este tipo de bienes, ocasionadas por el propio procedimiento de declaración, y que impiden una clara y fluida gestión del patrimonio arqueológico cuyo objetivo debería ser, a tenor de las más actuales tendencias en la gestión patrimonial, integrar, cohesionar y desarrollar social y económicamente los territorios. Para ello, se ha centrado el estudio en el análisis de la organización legal y administrativa en la gestión del patrimonio arqueológico, la política de autorizaciones de las intervenciones arqueológicas, la de protección reflejada en los BIC, la delimitación de áreas de protección y su conversión en parque arqueológico, lo que nos han ayudado a profundizar y mostrar el estado actual de los bienes arqueológicos canarios y avanzar en la evaluación y diagnóstico de la gestión del patrimonio arqueológico.

Accesibilidad aérea interinsular y cohesión territorial en Canarias

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo realizar un análisis de la actual accesibilidad puerta – puerta del transporte aéreo interinsular como elemento de cohesión territorial de Canarias. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, se realiza un diagnóstico considerando varios aspectos claves: frecuencias, disponibilidad de asientos, tarifas puerta – puerta y su impacto en los perfiles de viajeros de mayor demanda, además de los horarios que, conjuntamente con los tiempos de transporte, nos proporcionan en los destinos una disponibilidad horaria final para el viajero, todo ello en un viaje de ida y vuelta y en una misma jornada. La conclusión es que la accesibilidad ha mejorado sustancialmente en los últimos años, pero existen marcadas carencias de disponibilidad de tiempo en los destinos que imponen elevados sobrecostes al viajero, aspecto al que hasta ahora se le ha prestado escasa atención, pues los estudios se han centrado, sobre todo, en las tarifas aéreas. En suma, ello conlleva un déficit de integración territorial, especialmente para los residentes en las islas de El Hierro y de La Gomera y que debe ser enmendado tanto por la administración, ampliando los horarios de operatividad de las infraestructuras aeroportuarias, como por las compañías aéreas, procediendo de igual manera con sus horarios.

Un nuevo refugio para Simulium (Rubzovia) paraloutetense Crosskey, 1988 (Diptera: Simuliidae) en La Gomera (Islas Canarias)

Debido a la destrucción de la única localidad conocida anteriormente de S. paraloutetense Crosskey, 1988 en Gran Canaria, el descubrimiento de una larva joven en un arroyo primaveral de La Gomera reviste una especial importancia faunística. La determinación fue difícil ya que no hay caracteres diagnósticos claros para las larvas jóvenes; sin embargo, fue posible una diferenciación plausible de especies similares. Se proporciona información bionómica sobre la distribución y ecología de otras especies de simúlidos en La Gomera.

A Review on Historical Tsunamis in the Canary Islands: Implications for Tsunami Risk Reduction

The analysis of the historical documentary sources together with evidence from the geological record is essential to understand the impact and processes triggered by tsunamis on the Canary Islands. This archipelago has been affected by tsunamis caused by different geological processes, of which the most studied have been those generated by prehistoric mega-landslides. However, there is also evidence of those produced by distant tsunamigenic sources. An exhaustive review of all documentation available was made, identifying the existence of at least four seismically triggered tsunami episodes (1755, 1761, 1941 and 1969), the majority with an epicenter in the Azores-Gibraltar boundary. In this work, several tsunamis are cited for the first time, such as the one produced by the Argaga (La Gomera) landslide in 2020. Other episodes historically identified as tsunamis are discarded as they corresponded to other geological events. The effects of most historic tsunamis have gone unnoticed, having occurred in epochs of sparsely populated coastal areas. But their study allows us to infer the need for the archipelago authorities to establish preventive measures to avoid possible damage from tsunamis, especially if we consider the presently high population density of the Canarian littoral.

Opioid Consumption Trends in Spain: The Case of the Island of La Gomera (2016-2019)

This study aimed to describe the consumption of opioid drugs in the island of La Gomera over a four-year period (2016–2019) at various levels (island, township and health areas). Data were extracted from the wholesaler in community pharmacies at a population level. Consumption patterns were expressed as number of Defined Daily Doses per 1000 inhabitant /day (DID) and by the number of sold units per 1000 inhabitants and year. A common classification system (ATC) and the two units of measurement proposed enabled comparisons at various levels. Major differences between island, township, and health areas are presented. Little is known about the reasons for these differences. The opioids belonging to the N02AJ groups and N02AX were the most consumed according to the “sold units” parameter, which accounted for 69.48% and 18.59%, respectively. The situation was similar in terms of DID, although with lower percentages, but a significative increase was observed in the use of fentanyl and buprenorphine, around 15% each. The balance between the uses of weak or strong opioids showed differences in La Gomera compared to those nationwide. In mainland Spain, almost 70% of the consumption came from weak opioids versus that of 58.67% in La Gomera. Fentanyl was the most frequently used strong opioid (16.10%) followed by tapentadol and buprenorphine, around 5% each, whereas in La Gomera buprenorphine was the most consumed (15.75%) followed by fentanyl (14.87%) and tapentadol (5.82%). These differences in opioids consumption are most likely explained by different changes on the prescribing habits and sociodemographic characteristics.

Study of the Gametophytic phase of Diplazium caudatum (Athyriaceae, Polypodiopsida) from Spain

The gametophytes of the Athyriaceae are not very well known, such as Diplazium caudatum. The aim of this work is to analyze the gametophytic phase of this species, which includes germination study, morphological development and reproductive phase. Spores belonging to two different sporophytes from La Gomera, Spain, were mixed and sown in multisporic cultures. Plates have been cultured in chambers with nutritive agar at 25ºC and 12 hours photoperiod. The germination was registered every three days, and the main vegetative and reproductive development was checked throughout the observational period. The germination rate reached a maximum of 58%. The spore germination followed a Vittaria pattern meanwhile prothallial development followed an Adiantum type. Regarding sexual expression, all gametophytes developed archegonia and later some of them developed antheridia becoming bisexual.