Public consultation opens for the Natura 2000 North Ibiza Management Plan and the Es Trenc PRUG

The two resolutions, published yesterday, 3 February, in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), open the public participation procedures aimed at consolidating environmental management instruments adapted to the current needs of the territory.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, through the Directorate General for Natural Environment and Forest Management, has initiated the administrative procedures for the approval of two environmental planning instruments of major importance for the Balearic Islands: the Natura 2000 North Ibiza Management Plan and the Master Plan for Use and Management (PRUG) of the Es Trenc–Salobrar de Campos Maritime-Terrestrial Natural Park. Both resolutions activate the preliminary public consultation process in order to gather contributions from citizens and relevant stakeholders.

As explained by the regional minister, Joan Simonet, “the renewal and updating of these instruments is a commitment by the Govern to the conservation of natural values and to environmental management. Opening these processes to public participation is essential to ensure that the measures adopted are effective, widely supported and adapted to the socio-environmental reality of our territory.”

Regarding the Natura 2000 North Ibiza Management Plan, Simonet stressed that it is “a priority action to strengthen the Natura 2000 Network in Ibiza, through measures that help preserve habitats and species of community interest while ensuring compatibility with traditional activities and sustainable uses.”

With regard to the PRUG of the Es Trenc–Salobrar de Campos Maritime-Terrestrial Natural Park, the Director General for Natural Environment and Forest Management, Anna Torres, highlighted that “this instrument is essential to clearly define the uses and management criteria of one of Mallorca’s most emblematic natural areas, and to strike a balance between the protection of its ecological values and public use.”

The publication of the relevant documentation on the Govern’s Transparency and Citizen Participation Portal, together with the launch of the public consultation procedures, aims to allow organisations, sectors and the general public to submit contributions before the draft decrees are drawn up.

“Participation and collaboration with the different social and scientific stakeholders enrich regulatory processes and strengthen the Govern’s decisions,” added Torres. “With these two procedures, we are moving towards more open, rigorous environmental planning that is better adapted to current conservation and management challenges.”

Finally, Minister Simonet concluded that “we continue to promote the updating of management instruments for protected natural areas across the archipelago, strengthening biodiversity conservation and social involvement in environmental decision-making.”

It should be recalled that these new procedures add to others already underway and currently in the drafting phase in areas of high environmental and ecological value, such as the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park and the Ses Salines Natural Park.