Satellite images reveal that the settlement of cabins and caravans on the coast of La Oliva has increased from half a dozen vehicles in 2017 to around fifty today, occupying 29,000 square meters in a coastal servitude area.
The shanty town of El Jablito, in the municipality of La Oliva, continues to expand. Satellite images show an unstoppable progression: in 2015 there was barely a clearing; by 2017, about twenty cabins were visible; today, around fifty are crammed onto a plot of 89,000 square meters, much of it on rustic land and within the protective servitude of the coast.
A camp that becomes permanent
What started as a temporary camping site has turned into a permanent settlement. The cabins, many surrounded by metal sheets and awnings, line up to form streets. Some caravans lack wheels, indicating that their location is definitive. At the doors, iron stakes driven into the ground and tarpaulins delineate private plots.
Residents of the historic core of El Jablito, dating back to the 17th century, have placed a sign with two prohibitory symbols: a motorhome and a tent crossed out. "Please do not camp or park any type of vehicles," reads the message. But just a few meters away, the reality is quite the opposite.
The settlement even has common areas. Six colourful chairs on a plastic rug form a kind of village square, protected from the wind by tarpaulins held down with stones. A water tank with partially buried piping supplies the residents.
Open reports with no visible results
Sources from the La Oliva Town Hall confirm that the Canary Agency for Urban and Natural Environment Protection has open infringement reports in the area. However, the results are not visible. Two years ago, the Agency deployed two drones in El Jablito to document illegal constructions on rustic land on the island, but the expansion has not stopped.
The situation is reminiscent of what happened in Puertito de la Cruz, in Jandía, where four years ago around fifty caravans installed at the entrance of the village caught fire. There was also a similar settlement there that ended in flames.
The Insular Plan for Land Management of Fuerteventura classifies this area as common rustic land. The Regulatory Ordinance on Rustic Land of La Oliva also states this. However, the future urban planning of the municipality, in draft phase since 2021, considers the possibility of reclassifying part of this land as tourist buildable land.
A historical problem with no solution in sight
The growth of this illegal settlement contrasts with the history of El Jablito, an old port that, according to residents, "served island farmers to unload goods, fish, and gather shellfish during the summer months." In a sign, the residents of the original core proudly recall that "in the 1990s, the urban and expansionist ambitions of authorities and businessmen sought to make El Jablito a source of their wealth."
The concession for a sports marina, named Puerto Ventura, dates back to 1980 and remains valid for 50 years. But the illegal settlement continues to grow outside any planning. So far, the open reports have not managed to halt the occupation of this coastline.
For the resident of La Oliva, the question is when effective measures will be taken. In the meantime, the landscape of the northern coast of Fuerteventura continues to transform, with a settlement that, lacking any brakes, already seems definitive.
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