228
R. De la Cruz Modino and J.J. Pascual-Fernández
The distribution of this human pressure around the territory is however, not balanced:
Gran Canaria has 537 inhabitants per km
2 versus El Hierro’s
9 41 per km
2
, the least
populated island of the archipelago with only 10,892 total inhabitants.
10 Tourist and
services-related development is largely concentrated on only a few of islands. Each
island government, or Cabildo , has a role in this process. In the case of El Hierro the
island government rejected the idea of mass tourism development, keeping tourist
infrastructure to a minimum. The airport, for example, only allows propeller airplanes arriving from other regional islands, and there are no plans for expanding to
international fl ights. The Cabildo does not want to follow the patterns of rapid
growth and the models of mass tourism development of the other islands, such as
Fuerteventura, which has almost tripled in population in less than 20 years.
The story of La Restinga is marked by its recent creation. Located in a peripheral and uninhabited area surrounded by volcanic lava fl ows but with excellent
year-round climatic and environmental conditions, the fi shing families who
founded the village in 1940 came from Valle Gran Rey, in La Gomera. Before
their arrival, the area was largely uninhabited,
11 and was used as a place of temporary settlement by farmers from the neighboring village of El Pinar (who spent
several weeks a year farming and fi shing on the coast) and for fi shing trips from
La Gomera. In the late 1970s, the total population of La Restinga counted 124
inhabitants. Since its foundation, the main economic activities in the village have
involved fi sheries.
9 Data from 2009 retrieved December 12, 2010 from http://www2.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac/
estadisticas
10 Data from 2009 retrieved December 12, 2010 from http://www2.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac/
estadisticas.html
11 Without electricity or fresh water supply, the fi rst families who came to La Restinga lived in
caves on the coast.
Fig. 12.1 Map of Canary Islands and El Hierro (Credit: A.J. Rodríguez-Darias)
R. De la Cruz Modino and J.J. Pascual-Fernández
The distribution of this human pressure around the territory is however, not balanced:
Gran Canaria has 537 inhabitants per km
2 versus El Hierro’s
9 41 per km
2
, the least
populated island of the archipelago with only 10,892 total inhabitants.
10 Tourist and
services-related development is largely concentrated on only a few of islands. Each
island government, or Cabildo , has a role in this process. In the case of El Hierro the
island government rejected the idea of mass tourism development, keeping tourist
infrastructure to a minimum. The airport, for example, only allows propeller airplanes arriving from other regional islands, and there are no plans for expanding to
international fl ights. The Cabildo does not want to follow the patterns of rapid
growth and the models of mass tourism development of the other islands, such as
Fuerteventura, which has almost tripled in population in less than 20 years.
The story of La Restinga is marked by its recent creation. Located in a peripheral and uninhabited area surrounded by volcanic lava fl ows but with excellent
year-round climatic and environmental conditions, the fi shing families who
founded the village in 1940 came from Valle Gran Rey, in La Gomera. Before
their arrival, the area was largely uninhabited,
11 and was used as a place of temporary settlement by farmers from the neighboring village of El Pinar (who spent
several weeks a year farming and fi shing on the coast) and for fi shing trips from
La Gomera. In the late 1970s, the total population of La Restinga counted 124
inhabitants. Since its foundation, the main economic activities in the village have
involved fi sheries.
9 Data from 2009 retrieved December 12, 2010 from http://www2.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac/
estadisticas
10 Data from 2009 retrieved December 12, 2010 from http://www2.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac/
estadisticas.html
11 Without electricity or fresh water supply, the fi rst families who came to La Restinga lived in
caves on the coast.
Fig. 12.1 Map of Canary Islands and El Hierro (Credit: A.J. Rodríguez-Darias)