The Ibiza and Formentera Marine Forum moves forward in protecting Posidonia oceanica

The Ibiza and Formentera Marine Forum 2025 will promote, together with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), a total of 26 measures aimed at strengthening the protection of the marine environment and, in particular, the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows around Ibiza.

According to a statement from the promoting team, the implementation of these measures was agreed upon at the technical working groups of the last edition of the Forum, held in October, and was revisited at a meeting held this Monday, January 19th.

Representing MITECO at the meeting were Rafael Centenera, Head of the Fisheries Unit of the Subdirectorate-General for Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity, and Francisco Guil, Head of the Marine Protected Areas Unit.

On behalf of the Marine Forum, attendees included Inma Saranova, Director of IbizaPreservation, and Esteban Morelle-Hungría, Professor at Universitat Jaume I and Director of the IbizaPreservation Chair of Blue Crime, representing the group of entities that make up the promoting team.

The meeting followed on from those held in October, which resulted in the document Conclusions and Technical Measures of the Ibiza and Formentera Marine Forum 2025, submitted to the relevant authorities at the end of last year.

During Monday’s meeting, measures were discussed relating to monitoring the state of the marine environment, improving responses to environmental impacts, reducing pollution, including discharges and microplastics, upgrading wastewater infrastructure, and implementing more effective anchoring regulations to prevent damage to posidonia meadows.

Both parties agreed on the need to maintain a stable channel for collaboration and follow-up in order to define next steps and speed up the implementation of the measures, as detailed by the Forum in its press release.