The Anaga Massif has been given a more accurate map, and the result is that the Anaga Biosphere Reserve is more than one square kilometre larger than previously recorded.
The update, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, ratifies the new zoning approved by UNESCO for the reserve.
The revised mapping uses modern surveying technology, including high-resolution aerial photography and digital terrain modelling, to improve the accuracy of the reserve’s boundaries.
A more accurate picture of Anaga
The new measurements put the total area of the reserve at 49,948.84 hectares.
This includes 16,693.51 hectares of land across Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna and Tegueste, together with 33,255.33 hectares of surrounding marine territory extending to depths of up to 1,000 metres.
The technology has helped correct small inaccuracies from older mapping methods, which were particularly difficult to apply across Anaga’s steep and rugged landscape.
The updated zoning was approved during the 37th session of the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in Lin’an, China.
Three zones with different levels of protection
The revised reserve is divided into three main areas.
The core zone, covering 1,870.23 hectares, provides the highest level of conservation and includes important areas of laurisilva and other valuable natural habitats.
The buffer zone covers 9,645.29 hectares and is designed to protect the most sensitive areas while allowing regulated public use.
The largest area is the transition zone, covering 38,433.32 hectares, where human activity and sustainable economic development are concentrated.
What it means for Anaga
The updated boundaries are more than just a technical exercise.
Around 20,113 people live in the hamlets of Anaga, and the clearer mapping should help authorities better manage traditional activities such as agriculture, livestock farming and small-scale fishing.
It should also make it easier to identify where development is appropriate and where the landscape requires greater protection.
For an area as complicated as Anaga, having a more accurate map is probably one of those improvements that sounds rather boring until you realise how important it actually is.
The new system should give the local authorities a better foundation for protecting Anaga’s natural environment while supporting the communities and traditional activities that have been part of the area for generations.
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