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The inhabitants of Menorca are known for the love they have of their land. Many people have acted, in one way or another, for one cause or another, with the final aim of preserving the island as it is.
Furthermore, the cohesive fabric of Menorca is both wide and active. Today we want to celebrate the alliance between two local NGOs whose aim is to create synergies for potential action that are profound and long lasting. This is about the new collaboration we have initiated between the Menorca Preservation Fund and GOB’s Land Stewardship Scheme.
The Menorca Preservation Fund is a foundation that raises private finance both locally and internationally from people who have a link with Menorca. The funds are channelled into local projects that work on the themes of Sea, Earth, Energy and Plastics with the aim of protecting and preserving the Menorcan environment. In addition, it promotes its own projects that have been identified as necessary but are not covered by any other entity.
The Land Stewardship Scheme is, without doubt, one of the active projects that has the greatest potential for the preservation of the island’s territorial environment. There are already more than 2800 hectares cared for under the Land Stewardship Scheme, which is the equivalent of 4% of the total surface of Menorca.
The aim of the Scheme is to conserve the mosaic landscape of the Menorcan countryside – with its high levels of biodiversity – through support for sustainable agricultural activity. Without the farmers being aware of their role as the principal custodians of the Menorcan countryside, it would not be possible to extend conservation and sustainability to so much of the land. We say this because approximately 50% of the surface of the island is directly agricultural and we calculate that at least 20% more of the island is within the limits of the agricultural farms (basically, wooded areas that do not enter into agricultural statistics.)
The Land Stewardship Scheme helps farmers with training, advice, the purchasing of strategic materials, promotion of their products, volunteers and other means, with the aim of producing healthy foods for people, regenerating natural values and boosting the local economy. You can learn more about the programme in this one minute video.
It is possible, from our society, to contribute actively to the programme by signing up for volunteering, but, especially, by choosing products from country farmers who have made a special commitment to the natural values of Menorca. You can consult the catalogue here in pdf or here as a location map.
The new association with the Menorca Preservation Fund will help with some of the Land Stewardship lines over the next three years. We hope that this will initiate new and long lasting synergies for the Menorca we love.