Tag Archives: Sustainability

Pere Fraga: “The landscape around us is the best school of gardening”

Views: 4

We speak with Pere Fraga i Arguimbau, botanist and expert in the flora of Menorca. Fraga is one of the co-authors of the Manual de jardineria sostenible i amb planta autòctona, per a una illa com Menorca (Sustainable Gardening and Native Plants Manual for an island such as Menorca), the latest publication by GOB Menorca, recently presented in Maó, Ferreries, and Ciutadella, and one of the organization’s highlighted new releases this Sant Jordi. We take this opportunity to talk about the manual and to ask him for some basic recommendations on how to apply the principles of sustainable gardening to home gardens and terraces.

Continue reading Pere Fraga: “The landscape around us is the best school of gardening” →

The cross-cutting issue

Views: 11

Spring has begun, leaving behind meetings, conferences, studies and debates on important issues in Menorca. Menorca’s winter brings a remarkably active pace of events that encourage reflection and analysis. And in all these initiatives, when one takes a moment to think, a common factor emerges—one that runs through all these issues and fills them with a sense of concern.

We struggle to find solutions for aquifer management, access to housing, waste reduction and recycling, beach overcrowding, and the gradual loss of purchasing power.

Continue reading The cross-cutting issue →

Cutting the flower

Views: 48

The President of the European Commission says that nuclear energy is strategic for Europe. Next month will mark 40 years since the very serious accident at the (formerly Soviet and now Ukrainian) Chernobyl plant, when a radioactive cloud larger than the entire Iberian Peninsula was released and drifted across the West as far as the United States. The radiation was equivalent to hundreds of bombs like the one in Hiroshima.

Continue reading Cutting the flower →

February 26, the challenge of waste management, up for debate at the Ateneu de Maó

Views: 21

The fourth and final round table in the «Viure dins del dònut» [«Living within the doughnut»] debate series at the Ateneu de Maó will focus on waste management. This genuine collective challenge is a key element in moving towards more sustainable and responsible models. The session will address the future prospects of island waste management, the role of the three Rs —reduce, reuse and recycle— and innovative local upcycling initiatives.

Continue reading February 26, the challenge of waste management, up for debate at the Ateneu de Maó →

Dangerous land

Views: 47

The theory of no man’s land began as a somewhat rudimentary slogan, but it soon took root because of the usefulness it could offer at particular moments. Circumstances condition many things. When more developed societies carried out the occupation of other territories, it was necessary to dress it up with justification.

The strategy was to argue that no one was using that land. Without ploughing or sowing, it seemed abandoned. It was not difficult to spread the idea of lands that held no interest for those who had arrived previously. A line of reasoning that was very successful, to the misfortune of those who were already living there.

Continue reading Dangerous land →

A Step Forward for the Menorca Agroecological Alliance: Collaborative project workshop

Views: 15

The Alliance for Agroecology in Menorca is organising a Project Definition Workshop next Thursday, 19 February, at CentreBit Menorca (Av. des Camp Verd, 4, in Alaior), with the aim of opening up the participatory process launched a year ago and bringing new people and organisations into the transformation of Menorca’s agricultural sector towards a more sustainable, fair and territory-rooted model.

After a first year of work driven by a small core group, the Alliance wants to take a step forward and broaden the project’s social base. Promoting the agroecological transition — which links agricultural production and nature conservation — is a collective challenge that requires everyone’s involvement.

Continue reading A Step Forward for the Menorca Agroecological Alliance: Collaborative project workshop →

Roofless progress

Views: 43

The Roman Empire had one of its main ports at the mouth of the Tiber River. Intense trade and the movement of people generated an important settlement near the capital. But everything went into decline when rainfall began to bring in large quantities of sediment.

It had always rained. But the enormous deforestation carried out in nearby forests to extract firewood resulted in unprecedented erosion. The port filled with earth and ships could no longer operate. Ignoring limits ended up sinking a prosperous economy.

Continue reading Roofless progress →

From soil to seed – 2nd Session of the 2026 Agriculture and Environment Seminar

Views: 5

The final session of the 2026 Agriculture and Environment Seminar, to be held in the audience hall of the Claustre del Carme on 7 February in Maó, will focus on the role of knowledge — scientific, traditional and applied — as a driver of transformation in the agricultural model. The presentations will address, from complementary perspectives, how recent advances in the study and management of soil, on the one hand, and, on the other, the recovery of wild edible plants and traditional varieties, can contribute to strengthening biodiversity, food sovereignty and the economic viability of the primary sector.

Two presentations that will outline a horizon in which research, farming and territory converge to move towards a more sustainable, resilient and locally rooted agriculture through concrete and contextualised experiences and data.

Continue reading From soil to seed – 2nd Session of the 2026 Agriculture and Environment Seminar →

Es Mercadal faces difficult prospects for drinking water

Views: 78

Declaring the sa Roca aquifer to be in poor condition and curbing large-scale consumption should be priorities in water management in Es Mercadal.

GOB has submitted objections to the Sustainable Water Management Plan of Es Mercadal and highlights a serious situation in the water reserves of the urban area supplied by the s’Albaida aquifer.

Continue reading Es Mercadal faces difficult prospects for drinking water →