Wednesday, 15th February 2023
PROCESSING BEGINS FOR THE FUTURE PONENT NATURAL PARK IN CALVIÀ
The president of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol; the mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, and the regional minister for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, have visited the area of the future Ponent natural park in Calvià, where the start of the process to protect this site of great natural and patrimonial value has been announced. They have been accompanied by the councillor for the Environment and Ecological Transition, Rafel Sedano, as well as the deputy mayors Nati Francés and Marga Plomer, and the deputy mayor Marc López, on behalf of the Town Hall, the general director of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity, Llorenç Mas; the oceanographer Xavier Pastor, and the director of Marilles, Aniol Esteban.
The mayor stated that "Today is a very important day, not only for Calvià, but for the whole of the Balearic Islands, because we are talking about a lung, of a very important landscape, environmental, natural and heritage value".
Alfonso Rodríguez Badal recalled the background back in the previous legislature, when in 2016 a proposal was approved in plenary, unanimously, to urge the Govern to declare the Rafalbetx area a natural park. He has also pointed out that in the revision of the General Plan of Calvià the highest protection is granted to these spaces.
"It is an extraordinary initiative, the mayor has insisted, which is going to achieve the definitive preservation of this space that contains many values. Very good news for Calvià, and, once again, a very special thank you to both the regional minister and the president because thanks also to their conviction that these steps have to be taken, we are managing to start the process today".
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT'S PRESS RELEASE:
The Ponent natural park is the eighth in the archipelago (Ses Salines in Eivissa and Formentera, Albufera des Grau, Albufera de Mallorca, Mondragó, Es Trenc, Llevant and Dragonera), to which must be added the Cabrera national park and other natural spaces with important protection figures, such as the natural area of the Serra de Tramuntana.
The new park, which will undergo a participation process, encompasses 6,923 ha (1,083 land and 5,840 marine) and responds to a request from Calvià Town Hall, the civil society and Calvià's economic actors, who have been involved for years in the conversion of the area.
"Calvià has been committed to sustainability for a long time and it is very important to place its natural values at the forefront of how we want to show the municipality to the world. This is the appropriate work line for the Balearic Islands not only of the present, but also of the future, thinking about environmental sustainability and conservation as the only tools that guarantee life", declared the president Francina Armengol.
A hit area that preserves unique natural and heritage values
The southwest area of Mallorca is one of the areas that has suffered the greatest urban and tourist pressure on the island. Even so, it preserves a whole series of very relevant natural and heritage values, 456 species of flora, about thirty endemic species, 10 natural habitats and 75 species of birds, 48 of them are nesting species. In short, a refuge for some of the most important marine bird species in Mallorca, such as the virot gros, the gavina roja, the corb marí or the virot petit, the most endangered seabird in Europe.
"The future park allows to continue promoting biological corridors. The area will guarantee continuity with Sa Dragonera natural park and will connect the marine birdlife with the species of the Pitiüses and the Peninsula", explained the regional minister of the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir.
The future park includes ten 10 islets, important habitats for fauna and avifauna, with the prominent presence of the Balearic lizard, both in El Toro and in the Malgrats, marine reserves that the regional ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food expanded last year.
(Pictures: Government of the Balearic Islands and Calvià Town Hall)