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The General Meeting of the Island Members of GOB approved on 20 December 2018 the report of activities for 2018, the budget for 2019 and the composition of the new board of directors. 2018 has been another year of intense activity in which we started new lines of working such as how to confront the problems of plastic and refuse ending up in the sea.
The report of activities for 2018 can be found on the main GOB website, www.gobmenorca.com (only available in Catalan). It will be seen what a high level of achievement has been maintained for all our projects. The number of members has risen to 1,366. The membership is the main support allowing GOB to continue working independently with the object of making human activities and economy compatible with the environment and its natural resources. The contribution of volunteers is inestimable as they give their time to make projects viable such as the Centre for the Recuperation of Wild Animals and Es Viver, the garden centre for indigenous plants of Menorca.
Just to highlight some things, this year of 2018 has seen the launch of the campaign Mar Nostra (Our Sea) to work on questions that affect the marine environment. Particularly exciting has been the action to discourage one use plastic tableware. There have been 14 entities who have pledged to give up utilising this type of plastic.
The Land Stewardship Scheme continues to grow with 24 farms having signed up to agreements with GOB that commit them to make the management of their farms economically profitable while maintaining natural values, biodiversity and the landscape.
The Recuperation Centre for Wild Animals has attended to 1,347 animals. Education in schools has been taken to 3,400 pupils. Es Viver has sold 4,900 plants. These are only numbers to illustrate the work of GOB’s different projects that aim to have a harmonious relationship between human beings and the environment.
Monitoring and making environmental recommendations in town and country planning as well as in the management of natural resources are basic to the work of GOB. Here activity has been important on many fronts: the road campaigns, the revision of the PTI (town and country planning), the problems of water, the central power station, renewable energy, refuse…
The meeting approved the budget for 2019 of 408,300 euros, similar to the expenditure for 2018. The members’ subscriptions and donations represent 20% of the income which guarantees us total independence for the basic functioning of the association. The rest of the projects (environmental education, the Centre for Wild Animals, etc) require other sources that come from the private sector (services, sales and sponsorships) and 34% from various public or government administrations.
Another important point of the meeting is the renewal of the Island’s board of directors of GOB, that remains made up of the following people: Carlos Coll (President), Bosco Febrer, Xavi Camps, Louise Watson, Jaume Obrador, Maria Cardona, Santiago Udaeta, Jeroni Marquès, Ismael Pelegrí, Lluïsa Coll, Agustín Gómez, Cecilia Ligero, Anne-Marie Souron, Eduard Furró, Pepa Orfila, Maria Giraldo, Magda Seoane, Pacífic Camps, Caterina Pereira, Joan Carrés, Irene Cardona and Augustí Rodríguez. They are people from diverse backgrounds and with a large spectrum of ages, who will dedicate their time in a voluntary capacity for the goals of GOB which will continue in 2019. Finally, Bosco Febrer was voted as the interisland President at the General Meeting of GOB in Mallorca which was also approved by this island´s meeting of members. Bosco Febrer has a long history with the association and his presidency was just waiting to be endorsed by Ibiza.