The event, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of Canarias, will focus on the legal challenges posed by natural disasters and the mechanisms to ensure the social and economic recovery of affected areas.
The session will place special emphasis on the recent experience of La Palma after the volcanic eruption of 2021, an event that marked a turning point in reconstruction management. Beyond the replacement of infrastructure, the process has highlighted the need to establish a specific regulatory framework that guarantees rights, maintains social cohesion, and facilitates a return to normality in profoundly transformed territories.
The recognition of an innovative principle in the legal system: the right of affected individuals to recover the value of what was lost, developed from the specific legislation approved after the eruption.
A professor of Administrative Law from the University of La Laguna and coordinator of the legal framework for reconstruction, will address the main regulatory challenges arising from this type of emergency. Topics to be discussed include the valuation of affected land, the adaptation of urban planning legislation, and the creation of legal instruments to rebuild, relocate, or compensate those affected.
Subsequently, a director from the organizing media outlet will interview the counselor of Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of Canarias, to analyze the institutional response to these situations and the policies implemented to mitigate their consequences.
The forum will conclude by addressing how La Palma's experience has become a benchmark for future catastrophes, demonstrating that recovery not only involves physical reconstruction but also the recognition of rights, regulatory adaptation, and the protection of the social and economic fabric.
