Palma hosts debate on protection of natural areas

JAUME Font, the Balearic minister of the environment, was one of the speakers at a meeting of members of the Europarc Federation, which involves the bodies responsible for protected natural areas in 38 European countries. The meeting opened in Palma on Tuesday and ended yesterday afternoon, after an excursion to the National Park of Cabrera off the south of the island.
The main subject of the meeting was the Natura 2000 network to which Cabrera belongs.
Delegates at the meeting, which was held at a Playa de Palma hotel, discussed the importance of Natura 2000 in comparison with other networks of protected spaces, and how to divulge its values to European society. During his speech, Font underlined the importance of the law on the conservation of areas of environmental relevance, known as the LECO, the objective of which “is to find a definitive solution to the debate on the protection of natural areas, by means of compromise between all the affected parties.” Protected areas in the Balearics include 122'154 hectares of special protection for birds.