The results of the initiative for the promotion of good environmental practices, developed in the last two years within the framework of the Empleaverde Program of the Biodiversity Foundation, as well as a recent initiative to raise awareness and protect the landscape in this space, have been presented.

The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Ana Leiva, participated on Wednesday, March 16 in Mahón in a press conference to announce the results of the project ‘Promotion of good environmental practices in the Menorca Biosphere Reserve’, co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) through the Empleaverde Program of the Biodiversity Foundation. Josep Suárez, director of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Agency, also attended this event.

The same information session at the headquarters of the Menorca Island Council has served as a framework to comment on the details of the initiative ‘Awareness and protection of the landscape in the Menorca Biosphere Reserve’, currently underway, which aims to study how the Menorcan population perceives the landscape in order to disseminate and promote its knowledge as a living element in which natural processes converge with human activities. In addition to the survey through which information can be obtained regarding the perception of the landscape by the population, other actions foreseen by this project consist of the preparation of informative material for secondary school students; the development of a conference on the landscape aimed at the different social agents of the island, and the holding of a workshop and a round table with landscape experts.

Regarding the project that was developed during the last two years within the framework of the Empleaverde Program, the dynamization of economic activities can be highlighted. Its objective has been to contribute to the sustainable development of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve, through the promotion of social and environmental responsibility initiatives in certain private economic sectors, improving the capacity of different professional groups with an impact on the consumption of natural resources, such as water, agricultural resources, the landscape and the territory and energy. The training actions developed can be consulted on the website created for this purpose. To consult it, click here.

The Biodiversity Foundation has reported that, in total, more than 1,300,000 euros have been invested since 2007 in various conservation and sustainable development actions on the island of Menorca.

In addition, actions are being carried out to promote land stewardship in collaboration with the Island Council of Menorca and the Balearic Ornithology and Natural Defence Group (GOB Menorca). Such is the case of the ‘Sowing custody’ project, which seeks the involvement of owners and farmers in the conservation of biodiversity and the landscape, through the maintenance of sustainable agricultural activity. To this end, it encourages the formalisation of voluntary agreements with the private sector, which aim to ensure that production is compatible with the main territorial and environmental values.

Finally, it is worth highlighting the work of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, also with the support of the FB, to prepare an atlas of marine biodiversity of the Balearic Sea, which will contribute to a comprehensive knowledge of the marine wealth, as a first step towards its protection.