MENORCA PRESERVATION

ON THE GRASSROOTS PROJECTS IT SUPPORTS, AND HOW TO REINFORCE THE ONLY WAY FORWARD

Since its constitution in 2017, and thanks to the support of many people and businesses, Menorca implemented by local entities, within four key pillars of work: land, sea, plastic and energy

These have been developed and implemented by more than 20 entities on the island. This equates to more than 850,000 euros awarded to local environmental initiatives to boost the impact of our actions.

“I’m so proud of the team and supporters of Menorca Preservation. We have incubated and funded some truly game-changing environmental restoration initiatives across the island. Menorca is fast becoming a leader among the islands of the world as humanity figures out how to live harmoniously within nature.” Ben

Goldsmith, Co-founder of Menorca Preservation

In November 2017, Ben Goldsmith (founder of The Conservation Collective) and Estefanía Medina co-founded Menorca Preservation (Fundación para la Preservación de Menorca), a local, non-profit foundation. Their aim was to create a neutral and independent organisation through which one could support and strengthen environmental initiatives promoted by local organisations. In addition, as a foundation within The Conservation Collective group, Menorca Preservation is part of an international network of environmental non-profits, focusing on the protection, preservation and regeneration of biodiversity at a local level.

Over the last 5 years, Menorca Preservation has worked to slow down the effects of climate change on the island, contributing to the development of a more sustainable Menorca. Between 2017 and 2023, MeP has supported over 80 environmental initiatives focused on protecting, regenerating and conserving Menorca’s natural habitats.

“I feel incredibly proud of all that we have achieved and what it means: increased knowledge, protected natural areas, new environmental jobs created, an incredible network of people involved and concerned about our natural habitats and the impact of climate change on these etc. Somehow, we are managing to “give back” to Menorca, which was something we hoped for but is also what many of those supporting us, want to do”.

Rebecca Morris, Executive Director of Menorca Preservation

Menorca Preservation’s collaborative principle emphasises our objective to support the initiatives carried out by local environmental organisations, avoiding duplication of efforts. We are convinced that achieving the sustainable transition depends on the ability to involve the greatest number of people. Menorca Preservation offers ourselves as a cooperative organisation, bringing together efforts and resources to enhance the positive impact achieved.

Menorca Preservation’s areas of work are divided into four main pillars: Land, Clean Energy, Plastic and Sea. Within these pillars, MeP has supported and catalysed projects covering;

• research into marine conservation,

• educational projects with local schools on the importance of understanding our marine environments,

• support to the research campaigns of TURSIOPS, an organisation investigating the presence of a sperm whale “nursery” to the north of Menorca,

• the creation of the first Clean Energy Community in the Balearics

• the creation of a farmers training programme in sustainable agriculture.

Plastic Free Menorca Alliance

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest challenges and, with this in mind, Menorca Preservation catalysed the creation of the Plastic Free Menorca Alliance. This is a platform formed by several organisations with an outstanding mission towards the protection and preservation of the environment. These include GOB Menorca, OBSAM-IME, Associació Leader Illa de Menorca and 0 Plastic Menorca. Through the Plastic Free Menorca Alliance, the organisations have joined forces to achieve an island free of plastic pollution, especially from single use plastics.

The Plastic Free Menorca Alliance began its journey in September 2020 and, since then, has achieved some important milestones to reduce the use of plastic on the island. One of the actions is advising and accompanying companies in their transition towards a lower use of plastic through two labels: Plastic Free Balearics for the hospitality sector and the Plastic Free Menorca Commitment for other sectors.

Another initiative which has allowed us to orientate our strategy and monitor the steps taken, is the development of the Action Plan for the reduction of plastic pollution in Menorca by 2030. We drew this up together with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the participation of many other organisations.

We also dedicate time and resources to educating our local community about the need to implement changes. We cover the legal requirements and rights on plastics, good practices that can be implemented to reduce the use of plastic, the impact of plastic pollution on our natural habitats and positive alternatives to plastic as opposed to “fake” solutions etc. Our aim is to give visibility to the effects of plastic pollution and to be an agent of change towards an island with less plastic, working and collaborating with the whole of society.

Moving Towards A Plastic Free Island

For 2023, Menorca Preservation managed to secure a significant amount of funding from the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 to strengthen our Plastic Free Menorca Alliance. This new support will allow us to continue implementing the Action Plan for the reduction of plastic pollution in Menorca 2030. It sets out various actions aimed at raising awareness, and promoting and encouraging the elimination of the use of plastics in order to reduce the impact of plastic pollution in the island’s natural environment as much as possible. Some of the key actions will be:

• To continue to provide local businesses information on plastic pollution, raising awareness about the regulations and good practices via our Plastic Free certification.

• The installation of ten water fountains in busy public places across the island, to reduce the use of plastic water bottles and give the general public easier access to refilling their re-usable water bottles.

• In parallel, we are also working to install a small network of installations where people will find re-usable beach products, such as beach umbrellas and children’s toys extending their life cycle and encouraging tourists to re-use these products.

• In addition, we are launching a 0 Plastic Experiences platform from which we will promote all the resources available to reduce the use of plastic in Menorca, with a special focus on tourists. This platform will show the companies certified as Plastic Free, the location of the water fountains and the re-use points for beach products.

“Menorca has the opportunity as a Biosphere Reserve to become a key player in the fight against plastic pollution and we hope that these initiatives are the beginning of a collaborative effort to achieve a Plastic Free Island.” Marta Pérez López, Project Coordinator of Plastic Free Menorca to come to an immediate end. So, we came together with various collaborators, such as Ports de Balears, the fishing associations from Ciudadela and Fornells, Menorca’s Foundation for People with Disabilities – and our wonderful team of local artisans and artists. Together, with each collaborator playing a vital role, we collect the nets, process the nets, give the nets a second life by turning them into a commercially viable product, and sell the products. The project to date involves the participation of 60 fishermen and 17 artisans, with over 230 nets collected and over 40kgs of nets upcycled so far.

Pescart Menorca

Last but not least, and as part of Plastic Free Menorca’s initiatives, we also need to highlight PescArt Menorca. This is a circular economy project which seeks to give a second life to discarded fishing nets.

The aim of the initiative was clear: the impact that approximately 700 discarded fishing nets per year were having on our environment needed

“It is great to see how nets that we can no longer use can be used for such beautiful things. At the same time, we give more life to plastic and help to solve the resulting pollution problem.” Xavi Marqués, Major Captain of the Guild of Ciutadella Menorca Preservation exists thanks to strongly committed businesses, fabulous collaborators, wonderful local entities and individuals, like yourself. We all have a deep connection to Menorca and wish to preserve its precious environment. If you feel you can support Menorca Preservation, Plastic Free Menorca or PescArt Menorca in any way, please do reach out to us! We are willing to meet you.

Contact details www.menorcapreservation.org

@menorcapreservation

Communication & projects: Sara D’Eustacchio, sara@menorcapreservation.org

Executive director: Rebecca Morris, rebecca@menorcapreservation.org

Contact details www.plasticfreemenorca.org @plasticfreemenorca

@pescartmenorca

Plastic Free Menorca coordinator: Marta Pérez, marta@plasticfreemenorca.org

PescArt Menorca coordinator: Núria Sintes, nuria@ plasticfreemenorca.org