66 people worked in groups to discuss and prioritise some of the main water-related challenges facing the island.
On 29 November 2025, we held the GENESIS project’s Citizens’ Water Forum at the Benahoarita Archaeological Museum (MAB) in Los Llanos de Aridane. From the Association for Research on Macaronesia (AIM) We organised the event in collaboration with the Consejo Insular de Aguas de La Palma (CIALP), la European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) y La Palma Research Centre (LPRC) para hablar sobre el futuro del agua en la isla y sobre todo, escuchar qué tenía que decir la ciudadanía.
The morning began with a bit of background information. Alejandro García Gil, from the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IGME-CSIC) and project coordinator, spoke about how we can predict the future of water on La Palma and in Macaronesia. We also had Javier Peña García, manager of CIALP, and Iván Hernández Ríos, director of AIM, who presented the GENESIS demonstrators on La Palma and some of the solutions currently being investigated through them.
However, a significant part of the Forum was specifically designed to give participants the opportunity to speak. Following the presentations, several working groups were organised, facilitated by Gara Sentís y Alba Perera, from Lawarita S. Coop. Can., to discuss the main challenges relating to water on La Palma.
A wide range of topics emerged. Water availability and storage, infrastructure, adaptation to climate change, digitalisation and public participation were all discussed. Each group was able to discuss these issues based on their own experiences and perspectives, select the issues they considered most important, and then share their conclusions with the rest of the group.
For AIM, this Forum also represented a further step forward in the work on public engagement that we had begun a few months earlier with the GENESIS Focus Group. That first discussion took place with a small group of citizens. This time there were many more of us gathered around the tables, with different experiences and opinions, but all discussing something that forms part of the daily lives of everyone who lives on La Palma.
Here’s how the Citizens’ Water Forum went
Watch the video of the Forum