Tag Archives: Territory

Homeless people, empty homes: 13/06/2026

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It is estimated that in Menorca there are approximately 114,000 tourist beds, of which around 54,000 correspond to hotels and apartments, and another 30,000 correspond to authorised homes (most of which were previously used as residential housing). The remaining 30,000 places are offered in homes without a tourist licence.

When basic needs are left solely in the hands of the market, they end up going to whoever can pay the most. In recent years, we have seen that the number of tourists visiting the island has increased by around 80% in 15 years. Most of this significant increase is being accommodated in houses.

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Esteim fartes! [We are fed up!] New Via Menorca T-shirt

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Via Menorca calls on the ants to leave the anthill and defend the island from pressure and threats. A campaign T-shirt has been produced.

We would like to remind everyone that the rally will take place on Saturday 13 June in front of the Menorca Island Council, at Plaça Biosfera, at 7.30 pm.

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Residents 1, Urban developments 0 – 13/06/26

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It is difficult to get people who are spending a few days on holiday to understand that the place they are visiting has water problems. Perhaps they could get an idea if the surrounding context suggested it, but that is not the case.

The progressive loss of drinking water in Menorca is directly related to the economic development model that is being promoted. The resident population is making efforts to reduce consumption, but spending is increasing in tourist areas.

On Saturday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m., a protest action has been called in Biosphere Square in Maó. A great deal is at stake for the immediate future. Please help spread the call.

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Sustainable distortion

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Almost 40 years have passed since the concept of sustainable development was spread worldwide by the United Nations. However, fears about the distortion of the term have gradually come true, and there are still people who equate it with sustained growth.

Ancient philosophers already said that when words lose their meaning, citizens lose their freedom.

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I would like to return to Menorca: 13/06/26

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Official statistics show that Menorca has grown by 80% in the number of tourists over the last 15 years. Increasing overcrowding is not a feeling, it is a reality that is degrading the island in various ways. We already know that this path leads to the models of Ibiza and Mallorca.

But there are people who do not accept this destiny and will take to the streets to protest on Saturday 13 June, at 7.30 pm, at Plaça Biosfera in Maó. This is a new call by Via Menorca, the campaign that aims for the island to once again find a differentiated path, as it had for many years.

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‘If we are from a dry land’: 13/06/26

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They say that when ants all set in motion, no one has given the order. It is not decided by the queen, as one might suppose, nor by the larger specimens, who usually act as soldiers. Nor is it decided by the worker ants, who carry out many different tasks. They decide to act when certain information has been verified and they clearly see that a joint response is needed.

The new action that has been scheduled for the evening of Saturday 13 June, within the Via Menorca campaign, incorporates the symbolism of ants. Fed up with seeing the setbacks the island is experiencing, the increasing threats and the empty speeches without content, the ants have decided to leave the anthill.

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Encouraging fires in natural areas

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A new legislative amendment has been presented by the Partido Popular proposing changes to the Law on the Conservation of Environmentally Relevant Areas of the Balearic Islands (LECO). With the amendment to Article 52, deliberate fires of arboreal forest mass inside protected natural areas would no longer be considered an infringement.

As will be recalled, a few days ago the GOB made public parliamentary initiatives by the same political group to allow hunting on islets and other sites of high natural value. Now, some additional measures of particular gravity are being added. Eliminating or reducing sanctions for those who intentionally burn protected forests implies conveying to public opinion a highly dangerous sense of impunity.

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Roads with a second purpose

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The construction of railways in North America was crucial to the colonisation of territories disputed with Indigenous tribes. The railway line that eventually connected east and west enabled the movement of goods, people and animals. It became one of the key elements in the transformation of those lands—a structural change that meant the definitive colonisation of Indigenous territories.

But there is no need to cross oceans to understand the relationship between infrastructure and its consequences for the places it connects. When land was still being subdivided in the countryside of Menorca, there was always some councillor pushing to pave rural roads in order to facilitate subsequent operations of parcelling and construction.

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

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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.

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Renewable energies (2): Zoning and energy sovereignty

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This note is the second part of a reflection on the relationship between renewable energy and land use. It describes the situation in Menorca, which can be very different from other islands as well as from mainland Spain. For this reason, it is not appropriate to assume that what happens elsewhere is being replicated here, because that is not the case.

Over the past 20 years, several wind energy projects have been proposed in Menorca but have been halted for environmental reasons. At the same time, significant progress has been made in zoning suitable areas for photovoltaic energy, ensuring that spaces with environmental or landscape protection status are not considered suitable.

Anyone interested in understanding the differences and criteria applied in Menorca is encouraged to read the full text presented here.

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