Formentera reaffirms pact with Aliança Mar Blava

alianca acordEarlier today in the plenary hall of the Formentera Council, members of the local administration —President Jaume Ferrer and Councillor Daisee Aguilera, head of the environment office— gathered with a core group of Aliança Mar Blava members that included business sector representative Ángeles Nogales, NGO sector rep Sandra Benbeniste, association spokesman and public administrations rep Javier Gómez, volunteer coordinator Jordi Bichara and —the Council's delegate within the association— Diego Ojeda.

As the meeting got under way, members of Aliança went over a list of companies currently considering petroleum exploration projects in the Mediterranean Sea, among which the Spectrum company stands out. Commenting after the meeting, Councillor Aguilera explained the company's plan —now under environmental impact review— to carry out sonic explorations across an area stretching from northern Catalonia to the Balearics. As Aguilera noted, one hundred twenty-eight thousand people in the Pitiüsa Islands submitted their objections to an earlier project backed by Cairn Energy and the councillor expressed her hope that a similar grassroots movement would rally to oppose this new plan. She added that objections to the plan could be made as soon as the project is published in the BOIB (Butlletí Oficial de les Illes Balears).

Collaborative accord
Councillor Aguilera took the opportunity to announce the forthcoming signature, by the Formentera Council, of an accord —backed by a still to be determined sum of aide— aimed at assisting the Aliança Mar Blava in the group's work. Although the exact sum of the financial assistance has yet to be determined, Aguilera indicated that during 2014-2015 a similar CiF-Aliança accord earmarked an annual sum of €3,000 for the group. The councillor of environment closed by saying: “As Aliança has already done, our council will send a letter to Spectrum imploring them to desist all activity in the Mediterranean”. Aliança spokesman Javier Gómez thanked the Formentera Council for reaffirming its commitment to the association.