Increasing the area of publicly owned land in protected natural areas

The project

There are currently 13 protected natural areas in the Balearic Islands. Two in Ibiza and Formentera, one in Menorca and ten in Mallorca. These make up a total protected area of 76,109.23 ha on land, and 106,373.78 ha of sea, However, although they make up 15% of the total protected area, only a very small part is under public ownership.

Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity establishes the conservation of the biodiversity of habitats and species as a priority objective in the declaration of a space as a protected natural area. One measure related to conservation is the acquisition of land by public administrations, with the aim of promoting the protection of habitats and species, the creation of facilities for visitors, the improvement of landscape value, the conservation of cultural heritage, environmental education and the sustainable management of natural resources.

The aim of this project is to identify the needs of the existing protected natural areas in the Balearic Islands, and to establish priority criteria for acquisitions. However, it will only be possible to purchase a small percentage of the properties required for the management of the sites, with the hope that the programme will be continued in the future.

Measures to protect and conserve natural areas will contribute to the mitigation of the effects of climate change, as they can increase the capacity of systems to adapt to its impacts, and reduce the environmental vulnerability of the Balearic Islands.