The third vice president of the Government and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, stated this Thursday that she is “very upset” with the management carried out by the Madrid City Council with the felling of trees in various areas of the capital.
Ribera recently sent the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, a letter in which he asked him to stop the felling of trees, something that has sparked citizen complaints, for example, with the works on Metro line 11. There are also similar cases in places such as the Paseo de la Infanta Isabel or the Plaza de Santa Ana.
“Honestly, it makes me really upset because I think we all know that trees are essential in urban environments, especially mature trees. It is not possible to replace a mature tree grown with many years behind it and with an objective difficulty in being transplanted by small, young trees,” Ribera commented in statements to laSexta reported by Servimedia.
Ribera considered that this is “especially dramatic in those neighborhoods where it is difficult to guarantee that there can be rapid growth of these trees and they are moved, and where alternatives do exist.”
The vice president stressed that “no one questions” the work on Metro line 11, but that “it is preferable to cut down a mature grove of trees rather than cut off traffic for a year” on a side street.
Ribera recalled that a few years ago the so-called ‘laughter tunnel’ of Cercanías in Madrid was modernized, which crosses under Paseo del Prado and part of Castellana.
Then, the Botanical Garden indicated that the trees on Paseo del Prado were old and were part of the city’s cultural heritage, so they could not be cut down. “In fact, surely someone remembers Mrs. Thyssen chained to one of those trees,” said Ribera, who added: “The work was undertaken at a different cost, preserving those mature trees.”
“Now, however, being declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it seems that there is no problem in cutting down extraordinarily old cedars,” said Ribera.
On the other hand, Ribera described it as “boutade” that Almeida commented that the Government also orders the felling of trees in Madrid. “He tells me: ‘Keep an eye on what the Ministry of Transportation says we have to cut down for I don’t know what expansion, but forget it if Isabel Díaz Ayuso asks me,’” he commented.
However, Ribera indicated that “more than binary solutions of yes or no” or accusations “it is about going to the bottom of the matter, evaluating specifically, being transparent in motivating and explaining, and I believe that in this case the Madrid City Council and the mayor are not being sufficiently convincing with respect to the motivation, with respect to the justification of whether or not there are alternatives.”
Finally, Ribera showed his willingness to meet with Almeida to study whether basic standards are needed for the protection of urban trees. “Speaking the people understand. I think, honestly, that what people need is to see the Administrations working and solving problems, and not insulting or provoking each other, as we are unfortunately hearing on too many occasions,” he concluded.
