This September the Formentera Office of Environment has bolstered a campaign to contain numbers of mosquitoes and midges in marshy areas of the Ses Salines Nature Reserve and in sites of accumulated fresh water. The all-natural substance will be sprayed for nine days, instead of four as originally planned, and operations will include more days in October.

The FOE, which oversees pest control operations in the reserve, reminds islanders to keep a close eye on places water tends to accumulate because these are sites larvae typically develop. Common offenders include saucers under flower pots, animal troughs, cisterns and ponds.

30 September 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Consell de Formentera President and Councillor of Tourism Alejandra Ferrer welcomed attendees of the fourth Save Posidonia Project Forum today in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema). The first portion of the day found Ferrer highlighting conclusions reached by working groups that were held yesterday with representatives of the business sector, members of the public, NGOs and experts to discuss the current state of affairs and prepare a roadmap for the course ahead.

Participants in yesterday’s discussions were charged with identifying the most pressing needs on Formentera. Ferrer relayed the most salient points raised, including “regulating anchoring ships to avoid the associated strain generated both at Ses Salines reserve and across the island; regulating and reducing ferry connections between Eivissa and Formentera; determining Formentera’s carrying capacity on land and at sea alike”. The President also emphasised the importance of “global policies, because other territories’ growth-related decisions have knock-on effects on our coastline, which is saturated”. “Formentera’s sustainability strategies are decided with the help of the entire island, but we must go further and involve the entire Mediterranean protecting posidonia and all natural resources”, she concluded.

In his remarks, Councillor of Environment Antonio J. Sanz highlighted the SPP Forum’s growth since its inception in 2017. “It’s an event that connects tourism and the environment”, he remarked, describing the mission as “educating people about a resource which, as biologist Manu San Félix once reminded us, gives us the oxygen we breathe on Formentera”. “In posidonia we have our lungs”, stressed Sanz, who listed the projects that have been financed through the sponsorship of seagrass meadows. He also told attendees that the University of the Balearic Islands' ImPeFora project, which will analyse the effects of microbeads on posidonia, won the latest Save Posidonia Project call for proposals, along with a €112,000 grant.

The second block of the Forum is focused on ‘Smart sustainability: conserving posidonia’. It will feature working tables and talks in which experts discuss the present and future, the development of new innovative models in environmental sustainability and success stories of technology-driven sustainability.

For the third and final block in the afternoon, discussion will turn on local emissions and possible solutions, and the event will close with a round table on the leaders of the future of sustainable tourism and the closing ceremony, once again led by President Ferrer.

Saturday, 25 September

The SPP Forum also comes with opportunities for volunteers, like a 9.30am clean-up of S'Estufador beach organised in association with Plastic Free Formentera and Qué Celeste. A bus will depart from Sa Senieta car park in Sant Francesc at 9.00am.

At 12.30pm, a visit to posidonia meadows will include a boat trip, explanation of the ecosystem inhabited by posidonia and a diving activity overseen by a guide.

The full SPP Forum programme is available here.

24 September 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

For this year’s Save Posidonia Project, the Formentera Offices of Tourism and Environment are pleased to announce a beach cleanup at Cala en Baster and Es Carnatge on Saturday 25 September at 9.30am. A bus will depart at 9.00am from Sa Senieta car park in Sant Francesc. Plastic Free Formentera and Qué Celeste will also take part in the cleanup.

23 September 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Consell d'Entitats held a one-off session yesterday afternoon to discuss plans to regulate anchored watercraft in S'Estany des Peix. The meeting was chaired by President Alejandra Ferrer; attended by Director-General of the Balearic Office of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity Llorenç Mas and Formentera’s Councillor of Environment Antonio J. Sanz, and conducted by Councillor of Citizen Participation Vanessa Parellada. Among the nearly two hundred attendees were normal islanders, spokespeople from 24 Consell d’Entitats member associations and political party representatives.

Pointing to what she termed “the long-standing unsustainability” of the situation at S’Estany des Peix, President Ferrer insisted the island’s government was committed to “a regulatory model that strikes a balance between traditional anchoring needs and protection of a unique natural space”. Ferrer offered a message that was of both calmness and confidence, affirming, “The political will is to defend the general public interest and ensure that people can continue to enjoy S’Estany des Peix in an orderly and sustainable manner while respecting the traditions and cultural heritage with which the pond is associated.

The President said that apart from regulated anchorage, “other interrelated aspects demand our efforts as well, including a public anchorage spot in the port and a new dry marina and ramps”, insisting, “These and other actions will ensure that the people of Formentera can continue to enjoy access to the sea”. Ferrer also spoke about the need to study options “for the logistics and commercial side of things, as we have also conveyed to the Balearic Port Authority”.

15 days to offer suggestions for rules of use

Councillor Antonio J. Sanz detailed the progress made since March 2019. “Right now we are in the process of drafting regulations for the rules of use and the session brought some very interesting remarks and expressions of concern. We explained how residents can register their comments online through the Virtual Citizen Information Office (OVAC) and in person at the Citizen Information Office (OAC) and that they have 15 days to present their contributions and suggestions to shape these regulations”. The session also featured talk about the possible criteria for the tendering process, which Sanz assured would “comply with current regulations and be sound from an environmental and historical standpoint”. “Let’s not forget that these plans were borne out of the need to recover a natural space which is facing a high degree of degradation”, the Councillor reasoned. Interested parties can find out more on the Consell de Formentera website.

For his part, Director-General Mas asserted he was confident an agreement could be reached to “satisfactorily organise this protected natural space”. He added that “progress regulating the use of marine areas is essential in times of climate emergency to preserve our most valuable habitats and species”.

23 September 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera