Torrent de Pareis to be declared Natural Monument

The Torrent de Pareis will be declared a natural monument by the Balearic government. This was announced yesterday by the ministry of the environment. It will be the second such monument in Majorca, after Ses Fonts Ufanes. The proposal will be approved at Friday's Council meeting, minister Margalida Rossello said. She described the Torrent de Pareis as one of the most magnificent spots in the Tramuntana range of mountains, with important ecosystems and beautiful scenery. The minister said that the declaration would cover the Torrent de Pareis, the Torrent de Sa Fosca and the Torrent de Lluc. She said the entire area was important from a biological point of view. Antoni Rodriguez, the director general of water resources, said that it was a spectacular area, with fountains emerging from the rock face, giving it a characteristic humidity. An excursion to the Torrent de Pareis is one of the most emblematic on the island, the minister said. Rosselló added that declaring the Torrent a natural monument means that activities carried out there and the use it is put to can be planned. “It is not a question of creating restrictions,” she said, “but of improving the use of the area.” The definition of Natural Monument comes under the Law on the Preservation of Flora and Fauna. Rosselló said that the Balearics has been slow in this type of protection, pointing out that some regions have more than 30 natural monuments. However, Rosselló said that the ministry is not planning on declaring any more monuments in the near future. Declaring the whole of the Tramuntana mountain range a natural park is not an imminent project either, the minister said.