Views: 575
This Tuesday, August 27th, starting at 6:30 PM, the Menorca Wildlife Recovery Center will host a special family workshop. During this event, we will explore the stories of exotic animals such as iguanas, American and African tortoises, and other species that now reside at our hospital. How did these animals from distant lands find their way to Menorca? Through interactive games, we will learn about these creatures and the challenges that invasive species pose to our native wildlife.
Views: 457
Ràdio Far station has introduced a new podcast titled “Època de muda” (“Molting Season”), offering deep reflections on our relationship with the environment. The podcast features the evocative and committed texts by Miquel Camps, GOB’s Coordinator of Territorial Policy. This platform aims not just to share opinions on environmental issues, but also to challenge listeners’ consciences and spark debates on the significant challenges that our society is facing today.
Continue reading Ràdio Far launches a podcast on environmental reflection
Views: 459
Public institutions are trying to avoid confronting the problem of tourist overcrowding and its consequences, arguing that there is a shortage of studies. Meanwhile, the usual spokespersons for the tourist sector adopt denial postures for some of the problems that are already more than evident.
Continue reading Thursday 9 May: Overcrowding and housing: information at GOB office
Views: 495
Regulating the number of vehicles in the summer is a useful tool for combatting overcrowding. It has positive effects on the resident population and on the experience of all tourists to the island. Formentera paved the way in 2019 and obtained good results.
Here is a resumé as well as a video presentation made recently for the cycle of round table discussions “Menorca where are we going?” organised jointly by the Menorca Preservation Foundation, the Ateneo of Mahón and GOB.
Continue reading Vehicle Limit (2): the Formentera experience
Views: 2513
The Port Authority has tendered the construction of a dry dock ramp in the port of Mahon, in a protected area, with no possibility of parking and with the danger of affecting species under special protection. GOB has sent a letter to the port authority warning of these significant deficiencies.
Continue reading The Cala Teulera ramp, projected over a protected area
Views: 676
Rewarding urban offenders with a large increase in real estate value, and furthermore to have the Island Council public office help with these procedures, seems somewhat nonsensical and a provocation to those citizens who do things properly. Now is the time to analyse the problem of so-called vegetable gardens. Continue reading Association of large illegal houses
Views: 239
This Christmas you can give a special gift to friends, family or businesses with added value going far beyond our tables. On offer are our Christmas baskets filled with Land Stewardship Scheme products that are produced locally and sustainably. Cultivated in harmony with the environment, by local producers using sustainable agricultural practices and marketed at fair prices by farmers.
You can personalise the contents or chose from these three options: Continue reading Christmas baskets of Land Stewardship Scheme products
Views: 448
Organised civil society, that works to achieve collective interests, is now more necessary than ever in our archipelago: to work on environmental, social and economic aspects. During the weekend of 17 June GOB brought together its Balearic Islands sections and analysed the new political context.
The problem of tourist overcrowding would increase if the messages spread by the political parties forecast to form new government teams were applied. This route is considered wrong with loss of residents’ quality of life, with great pressure on natural values and a loss of positive economic results.
The impossibility of a large part of the resident population to visit certain beaches during the tourist season, the enormous difficulty to find parking in areas taken over by tourist vehicles, the price of housing that, in many cases, prevents exercising a constitutional right, are some of the social effects of the growing and unidirectional commitment towards mass tourism.
In economic terms, tourist overcrowding goes against per capita income as picked up by economic publications. In 1983, the province of the Balearic Islands was second in the state ranking. At that time, 4.3 million tourists visited the islands. In 2022, the Balearics appeared in 22nd place for state ranking, having received 16.5 million tourists.
It is clear that overcrowding does not contribute to the welfare of society, but only to certain activities that are extracted in economic terms, that is, extracting profits generated by the island and taken to other places.
This excess pressure shows repeated planning errors. Ibiza has three desalination plants and the aquifers are overexploited. Mallorca has been widening roads and new road infrastructures continue to be announced. In Menorca the sensation of saturation is growing and undeclared tourist accommodation takes up homes that should be for residents.
Faced with these growing problems, GOB has agreed for the society to work to promote control measures that will help social welfare and environmental recovery.
There are tools for these measures that can be used such as establishing a limit on the vehicles of each island, which has been successfully tested in Formentera; such as regulating the abusive extractions of water; such as management of the nautical offer without degrading natural values nor the quality of the experience of those using it; such as putting a brake on the promotion of summer tourism; such as the correct management of protected areas for conserving and recovering natural values.
Society is usually ahead of institutions in vision and commitment for the future. The islands need to organise themselves to find ways that balance conservation with non-speculative progress.
Views: 501
Today’s tourism announcement highlights one of the problems that has grown the most in the last few years in Menorca: the overcrowding of vehicles. This is an issue requiring urgent institutional attention. Continue reading Positive Tourism (7) – Vehicle congestion
