Ciutadella, Sant Lluís and Es Mercadal receive the new tourist places

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In the midst of a water crisis and in a situation of tourism saturation, the governing team of the Island Council of Menorca continues to promote measures that increase human pressure on the island.

The approximately 800 tourist places that the Council has reactivated, violating the tourism moratorium through the subterfuge of a temporary pool, particularly affect Ciutadella, Sant Lluís and Es Mercadal.

It is worth bearing in mind that these municipalities have for years been the main recipients of tourist population and, therefore, some of the territories most affected by the situation of the aquifers. In fact, the unbalanced relationship between the pressure exerted by a tourist and that of a resident becomes even more evident when we focus on water consumption. While a resident in a traditional population centre consumes an average of 180 to 200 litres of water per day, a tourist staying in a residential development can consume between 800 and 1,000 litres per day.

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The mistake of the tourist accommodation places pool

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GOB has asked the Island Council to abandon the use of the tourist accommodation places pool and to require guarantees of water availability for any new tourist concession that is made.

As is well known, the Island Council of Menorca resorted to a subterfuge to avoid the moratorium on tourist accommodation places that has been decreed in the Balearic Islands. The Prohens regional government, which in tourism matters has become characterised by making its discourse point in one direction and its actions in the opposite direction, enabled a way of bypassing the aforementioned moratorium.

It is a mechanism that collects tourist places that are voluntarily deregistered or have been inactive over the last three years, and puts them back on the market. These are tourist places that have ceased to operate, that are inactive, that were not operating. Removing them would not imply any kind of compensation for their former holders.

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The Water Crisis in Menorca: Es Mercadal

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The water supplied for the ordinary needs of the municipality of Es Mercadal comes from groundwater abstractions from the Sa Roca (1902M1) groundwater body. Piezometers show a downward trend since 2012.

According to data provided by the Water Resources Department and published by OBSAM, the s’Albaida aquifer had an average level of 41 metres above sea level in 2011. In 2025, the recorded level is 30 metres. These figures mean that the aquifer has lost 25% of its capacity in just 15 years.

Over the last decade, of the 13 monitoring points installed, 5 show a stable trend and 8 show a declining or sharply declining trend. None shows signs of recovery.

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Summer family activities at the Wildlife Recovery Centre

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This summer, on Tuesdays between 28 July and 18 August, the Wildlife Recovery Centre invites you to enjoy four evenings full of discoveries, games and learning for the whole family. A fun, educational and participatory programme to get to know Menorca’s wildlife better and spend an enjoyable time together—especially for children!

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Infinitists and Fatalists

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The world is drifting off course for two main reasons. On the one hand, there are those who fail to understand that the planet is finite. On the other, there are those who constantly spread pessimism. To make our way between the two, we need inspiration (hope), organisation (capacity) and a timetable (perseverance).

In today’s society, flat-earthers are not the majority. The majority are infinitists: people who believe we live in a world without limits. That is why they celebrate the usual indicators of ever-growing consumption.

Without accepting that the planet is finite, a society based on permanent growth inevitably creates major environmental impacts, which ultimately lead to profound inequalities and enormous imbalances.

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Call for Water in Menorca: Ciutadella

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Menorca’s aquifers are going through one of the most delicate moments in their recorded history. Ciutadella is the municipality with the highest urban water consumption (and probably rural consumption as well) on the island. GOB has requested information from the Town Council to find out how this increasingly depleted resource is being managed.

Menorca’s aquifers are one of the island’s invisible treasures. Without them, the landscape would not be the same, nor would the quality of life resemble what it is today. This is a matter that deserves serious attention, as water reserves are currently at historic lows.

For these reasons, GOB is launching several initiatives focused on water.

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Call for Water in Menorca: Es Migjorn Gran and Ferreries

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Menorca’s aquifers are going through one of the most delicate moments in their recorded history. The municipalities of Ferreries and Es Migjorn Gran record the highest percentage of losses in their water distribution networks. GOB has requested information to find out how this problem is being managed.

The official position is that desalination plants will solve the island’s water problems. But this has long been the strategy followed in Mallorca and Ibiza. When the condition of the aquifers on the neighbouring islands is examined, it becomes clear that desalination plants have not been used to reduce groundwater extraction, but rather to support continued urban and tourism growth. That is the reality.

For this reason, it is argued that unless limits are agreed beforehand, desalination plants become a passport to a model that exploits the territory and promotes an extractive economy.

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Rains of Hope

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Menorca lies on the 40th parallel of the northern hemisphere, one of the 180 imaginary horizontal lines that humans have drawn across the planet. A design that helps us locate a geographical point and also gives us an idea of climatic conditions. But sometimes science turns theory upside down.

We know that at parallel zero (the equator) it is usually hot, and that at number 90, both north and south, it is very cold. In between, there are progressive gradations.

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Blue Routes: Rediscovering Menorca’s Coast from the Sea

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Strips surrounding the coastline where access is only possible by non-motorised means. This initiative, which has a reference model on the Catalan coast, will be presented in Menorca and discussed by people from different backgrounds.

This Thursday, 9 July, at 7 p.m., the Blue Routes initiative will be presented at the Claustre del Carme in Maó. The proposal, promoted by the Marilles Foundation, aims to define routes and safe areas for non-motorised water activities, such as open-water swimming and snorkelling.

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Boat trips around the Port of Maó

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As part of the Recuperem el Port de Maó campaign, we are pleased to invite everyone to take part in the extensive programme of activities we have organised for this summer and autumn.

One of the first proposals is a boat trip around the bay, an opportunity to enjoy the harbour from the sea and discover it from a different perspective, guided by people who will show us values that you may not yet know.

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Conscientious Ecology