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A major step has been taken towards creating
the first Natural Park in Ibiza's history. Alleluia!
On Friday 29th June 2001, the Balearic Council
and the Island Council (*) gave initial approval to the Plan
for the Regulation of Natural Resources the result of which
will be Es Vedrans Natural Park.
It covers 2,413 hectares inland, all in
San José's Municipal District, and 564 hectares of
sea surface around, including the islands of "Conejera",
"S'illa des Bosc", "Bledas", "S'Espartar",
"Vedra" and "Vedranell".
The park begins in the back yard of Cala
Vadella's urbanisation along the coast, including Cala Carbó,
Cala d'Hort, Cap Blanc, Cap Llentrisca, Cala Llentrisca and
Ses Bocas, near Es Cubells. From there it goes inland, forming
a triangle reaching up to Sa Talaia de Sant Josep.
There are between eight and nine hundred
species of plants living in the area (sixty five per cent
of the island's total). Some are only found here. There are
also species within the local fauna which need the mountain
forests and the cliffs of the littoral to survive.
The coast, the islands and the waters by
are probably the richest in live species in the whole of the
Mediterranean Sea. And all exquisitely set in one of the most
genuinely breathtaking areas of natural scenery.
The increasing use of the South West coast
of Ibiza for filming, fashion and publicity photography and
international sports competitions year after year prove the
continuing attraction of the beauty and the great qualities
of this unique and magic bit of the Earth.
From now on, almost total restrictions will
apply as far as new buildings, roads, wells, overhead electric
lines or reducing the forest area. At the most, in the land
left for agriculture, proprietors will be allowed to build
one single-storey garage for their tractor and tools, no bigger
than 200 square metres.
There are three levels of protection in
the area. Maximum protection will be imposed on the littoral
from Cala d'Hort to Cala Llentrisca, including Punta Oliva,
with the magnificent Pirate's Tower and old quarry by the
seashore, down the cliff, known nowadays as "Atlantis".
The top of the mountains "Puig Jueu",
"Rocas Altas" and "Sa Talaia" also have
the maximum protection and nothing new can be built there.
On the other hand, any old finca - even
if it is just a ruin - can have planning permission to be
rebuilt (owning a ruin in this area has never before been
worth such a fortune). Also the old dry stone walls, mills,
ways and wells will be repaired with public money if requested
by the owners. The local government will support local farms
with autochthonous cattle and ecological agriculture.
It took over two years for the plan to be
developed. Quite a few changes had to be made and even now
there is strong resistance from some of the land owners and
the majority of councillors, including the mayor of San José
and the conservative party, Partido Popular (P.P.). They have
already said that an official protest will be presented during
the forty days that the plan has to be exposed to the public
in San Jose's town hall.
For more then three years, the area of Cala
d'Hort has been the battlefield between the Ecology Groups,
San José area residents and concerned citizens from
all over the island.
Friends of the Earth Ibiza Chapter (Anti
Golf Platform) vs. San José Town Hall and "Calas
del Mediterráneo S. A."
This latter entity is the company that bought
a good part of these "bad lands" to build a new
golf course, a new hotel, bank, offices, restaurants, disco,
shops, supermarket and rent-a-car-or-what-ever, plus several
hundred apartments. All surrounded by nine foot spiny-top
wire netting. (Five Stars Ghetto?) They want to buy it all,
build it all, and control it all. Of course, they only do
it in the very best interests of the Island, (they say) for
the best image, to bring more wealth (to whom? I'll bet you
can guess!).
There has been a full-sized golf course
on the island for more then ten years. It has never been overbooked
and, as a matter of fact, from what I read in the papers,
the golf course, when it is doing well, is fulfilling about
fifty per cent of its real possibilities. There is not a waiting
list.
In my opinion, golf is a great sport, healthy,
calm, collected. It is the only reason for some people to
walk.
I honestly believe that golf does a lot
of good, as does skiing on snow, mountain climbing on mountains
or playing ice hockey on an ice rink: everything in its right
environment.
(One day we will speak about the ecological
cost of a golf course on this island: what the use of this
big amount of land means for an island of this size; what
it means for the autochthonous flora and fauna; the enormous
consumption of energy to desalinate hundreds of tonnes of
sea water (plus as much water as they can get from all the
wells that they have already perforated in the area); the
chemicals and different kinds of poisons that are needed every
day just to keep the "greens" green).
But what about all the others that don't
play golf? What about the great majority of locals that don't
live in or for the ghetto? What do they play? Where do they
play? A new golf course can bring new good customers to Ibiza,
but it will put far more off.
It was not golf, or even clubs, that made
Ibiza well known all over the world.
Golf was not the reason why personalities
from all over the whole world came to visit Ibiza and made
this island unforgettable for some long-ago, characters such
as Ernest Hemingway, Rafael Alberti, Garcia Lorca, Errol Flynn,
or - later on - Orson Welles, Soraya, Ursula Andress, Charles
Orloff, Clifford Irving, Franck El Punto, Micus, Niki Lauda,
Kirk Huffman, Mike Oldfield or the Queen of Norway (plenty
have already deserted, because of "progress").
No, they chose this Island for its Beauty,
its Sea, Climate, Energy, exuberant Flora and Fauna, Freedom,
Harmony and peaceful Respect from and with the natives. In
other words, for its Nature! Nature is, no doubt, Ibiza's
biggest treasure, our best income. It deserves to be loved
and respected. We are all responsible for looking after it
and keeping it, for our own quality of life and to pass on
to future generations.
The Good News
This week we have started with the best
news that I could possibly speak about; any other news would
not sound that good after this one, so I'll save it for another
week.
I would like to thank all the people that
have worked so hard and still are, to give this first chance
to Ibiza and to the great majority of Ibicencos and residents.
Also to all the groups that, with a lot of common sense and
courage, preserved this area for all, and for the future,
legally fighting relentlessly against the greed of a few very
powerful people.
Margalida Rosselló - Counsellor of
Environment of Govern Balear and her team. She came from Majorca
to personally present and explain the new PORN, together with
the local Councillor Fanny Tur in a restaurant on Cala d'Hort
beach (they have good taste).
Fanny Tur - Counsellor of Environment of
Consell Insular and her team
"Grup de Estudis de sa Naturalesa"
GEN (What a great team!).
"Amics de la Terra-Eivissa" Hazel
Morgan, the President and dynamic leader has done a magnificent
job showing the world the flora of Cala d'Hort with first
class photography.
"Plataforma contra es Camp de Golf"
"Vox Populus". Power for the People. The People
for the People. The Voice of the People.
(*) Govern Balear. - Government of the Community
of the Balearic Islands.
Consell Insular. - Local Government of Ibiza-Formentera.
For any further information: Tel. 971 176079.
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Es Vedrà
Picture Copyright © Gary Hardy
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José P Ribas
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