Category Archives: News

Increased building control

Visits: 773

Building on rural land without licence is not always worthwhile. Some resolutions of the island Consortium on urban discipline translate into demolitions and large fines. The Consortium is an organ created in Menorca by agreement of all the town councils and the Consell Insular to avoid uncontrolled building on rural land. Its creation was decided after the repeated inability, both technically and politically, by the town councils to tackle this problem, which after a while resulted in the hundreds of illegal buildings becoming very difficult to manage. Continue reading Increased building control →

Saturday 29, workshop on how to treat the problems of the kitchen garden

Visits: 154

With the arrival of the summer and its heat and humidity, problems appear in the kitchen garden: fungus, lice… Saturday, 29 June at 10, we are having a workshop at Es Viver of GOB where the problems will be explained as well as how to recognise and treat them with respect to the environment. The workshop is open to the public, is free and there is no need to make a reservation. Continue reading Saturday 29, workshop on how to treat the problems of the kitchen garden →

Common Environmental Problems of the Balearic Islands

Visits: 432

The GOB Interisland Board of Directors met in Menorca to deal with questions that are of concern to the whole of the Balearic Islands. Mass tourism affects a large part of the Balearic territory, where there is still much land threatened with urbanization. It is also urgent to tackle waste, energy transition and the search for a more sustainable economy. Continue reading Common Environmental Problems of the Balearic Islands →

The marine environment becomes part of the Reserve of the Biosphere

Visits: 444

An area of some 20 kilometres of sea around Menorca has become part of the Reserve of the Biosphere, which, until now, included only land. UNESCO approved the addition on 5 June in Paris. This declaration is something which will be very helpful for enabling protection in the future. GOB celebrates the designation and the encouragement it gives to working for the rational conservation of the marine environment. Continue reading The marine environment becomes part of the Reserve of the Biosphere →

Sign the petition for public monitoring of the Central Power Station

Visits: 146

The emissions from the Central Power Station in Mahon are worrying because of their potential adverse effects on the environment and the health of the people. GOB is sending written requests to the Balearic Government for the installation of a meter system to be made available to the public so that anyone can make current readings of the levels of contamination from the power station. You can sign here (https://www.gobmenorca.com/firma-per-un-control-public-de-les-emissions-contaminants-a-menorca). Continue reading Sign the petition for public monitoring of the Central Power Station →

Microplastics and polystyrene in the Marine Reserve

Visits: 176

A large volume of needless plastic and a great deal of broken plastic bits. This comes from the cleaning of the shore that GOB organised for 9 June in the area to the west of Cala Tirant. In total, more than 130 kilos of rubbish was collected of which more than 125 kilos were plastics and petroleum derived materials such as expanded polystyrene and ropes. If this is compared with other areas we have cleaned along the shore we see that the quantity collected seems to be less than we find normally, but it has to be borne in mind that a significant amount of this rubbish collection was made from the so called micro plastics, pieces of small plastic. As the area cleaned was a macar (a stony beach), the micro plastics accumulate between stones and are difficult to extricate. Continue reading Microplastics and polystyrene in the Marine Reserve →

Sunday 2, open day at the Pedreres de s´Hostal and the Animal Hospital

Visits: 130

Lithica and GOB invite you to an open day which we have organised for next Sunday 2 June from 10.00 until 14.00 hours, to celebrate the world day for the environment. You have the opportunity to see how the improvement of the magnificent sculptured space of the Pedreres de s’Hostal has advanced, with its different corners, gardens planted with autochthonous plants and its labyrinth and at the same time you will be able to visit the animal hospital found in the interior. Both entities work for the environment in these quarries and we invite you to visit them. Continue reading Sunday 2, open day at the Pedreres de s´Hostal and the Animal Hospital →

Fauna from Menorca: the house martin

Visits: 576

The house martin or town swallow (Delichon urbicum) was frequently a neighbour in our towns. Their nests of clay clinging to roofs in the eaves formed part of the urban landscape. These days, as has been found from the numbers collected each year by SOM (the Ornitholigcal Society of Menorca), we are getting rid of these house martins from built up areas obliging them to build their nests in industrial estates or in urbanizations. Only Ferreries keeps a significant number of nests, though there is a tendency towards reducing the quota. Continue reading Fauna from Menorca: the house martin →