Tag Archives: Territory

Summoning the sharks

Views: 51

The evening was falling over the dark rocks of the north when the shoreline fishermen approached. A thick fishing line wound around a piece of cork, with a sizable hook, was the system used to try to catch moray eels and conger eels—sea predators that, in those years of scarcity, served to make fish soup.

To increase the chances of catching something, besides casting the baited hook in a suitable place and tying the line firmly to the ground, they also poured into the sea a liquid filled with blood and fish remains. Species that live by preying on others have keen senses to detect where there may be potential food—such as a wounded prey.

Continue reading Summoning the sharks

UNESCO halts the large Rafal Rubí bridge project

Views: 55

Menorca’s organized civil society has achieved another victory in the conservation of the island’s landscape values. UNESCO has taken a position on the controversy surrounding the double-level roundabout that the Island Council intends to build at Rafal Rubí and has requested that the works be stopped and that a less impactful alternative be sought — precisely what civic entities have been asking for.

Several cultural, social, and environmental associations have jointly demanded that the design of the Rafal Rubí junction respect the guidelines established by UNESCO when Talayotic Menorca was declared a World Heritage Site.

Continue reading UNESCO halts the large Rafal Rubí bridge project

The Rural Land Consortium and the pending information

Views: 51

GOB is an organisation that receives many citizen reports related to environmental issues. The association’s 48 years of continuous work help explain why many people prefer to speak with GOB rather than with the public administration.

When these reports refer to environmental alterations or damage, the facts are verified and detailed information is sent to the competent administration. The level of activity varies depending on what is happening in the territory. When there are major operations in forest areas, many reports are received on that matter. When there is no surveillance of fishing, reports come in about illegal fishing, and so on.

Continue reading The Rural Land Consortium and the pending information

The Legal Front for the Environmental Defence of Menorca is born

Views: 88

The will to have more tools to face aggressive projects against the territory and its environmental values has generated a strategic alliance now being launched in Menorca. The RADA association and GOB have agreed to create a joint legal front.

RADA (Red de Abogados y Abogadas de Defensa Ambiental) is a national network of professionals who share resources and information to help each other in their work defending the environment—a group of environmental law specialists willing to help preserve the island.

Continue reading The Legal Front for the Environmental Defence of Menorca is born

Gratitude and recognition for Cala en Busquets

Views: 114

The organisations promoting the Platform in Defence of Cala en Busquets wish to express our gratitude for the support received in recent weeks, both from individuals and from other organisations that have encouraged us to raise our voices publicly against the dry marina project.

Continue reading Gratitude and recognition for Cala en Busquets

A dangerous agrarian law for farmers

Views: 105

The draft Agrarian Law recently published by the Balearic Government could turn against farmers. Promoting economic activities that displace agriculture or removing environmental safeguards that protect soil fertility is not helping farmers—it is using them as an excuse to legislate in favour of other sectors. GOB has submitted objections.

Continue reading A dangerous agrarian law for farmers

Constitutional challenge against the “Strategic Residential Projects Law”

Views: 202

Social and environmental organizations in the Balearic Islands have publicly announced the filing of a constitutional appeal before the Spanish Constitutional Court against the Balearic law regulating so-called strategic residential projects.

Continue reading Constitutional challenge against the “Strategic Residential Projects Law”

Forest water

Views: 202

The holm oak forest is one of the jewels of Menorca’s woodlands, a space that generates magical landscapes. But the experience each person has when visiting one of these places can be very different. Those who are used to mushroom picking know that this is where some of the earliest mushrooms of autumn grow. Hunters will think of it as the place to hunt woodcocks. Others may see it as cubic metres of quality firewood.

Continue reading Forest water

The regenerative aquaculture as a marine resilience strategy

Views: 148

The general interest of the population towards the sea is growing considerably year after year. Therefore, the activities carried out there have multiplied. Thus, the anthropic pressure and threats affecting the habitats of the seabed have also increased, with a significant impact on the coastline.

Specifically, in the port of Maó, the phenomenon of commercial boating has skyrocketed, with constant expansions of facilities that end up being occupied at speculative prices. It is a growing market, but one that corresponds to a seasonal operation, which ends up displacing local boats of a more social kind, transforms spaces with natural values within the port, and which, for years now, has exceeded the island’s nautical carrying capacity.

Continue reading The regenerative aquaculture as a marine resilience strategy

Housing and tourist pressure, two related problems

Views: 216

Access to housing has become a problem in recent years in Menorca. Addressing this important social challenge is an increasingly urgent need, and data and reflection are required to take steps in the right direction.

In this note, based on official data, some of the variables most closely related to the situation are analyzed.

Continue reading Housing and tourist pressure, two related problems