Cabrera. The National Park has been in existence for 25 years.

Cabrera. The National Park has been in existence for 25 years. | AS

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma02/11/2016 00:00
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Various environmental groups have combined to urge the regional and national governments to increase the marine part of the Cabrera National Park to 90,000 hectares. In a joint statement released today, Friends of the Earth, Ecologists in Action, Greenpeace, Oceana, SEO/Birdlife and the World Wide Fund for Nature say that the increase is justified by surveys undertaken by Oceana over the past decade; Oceana represents national conservation interests on the Cabrera board of trustees. Other research, including that of the Balearic government, backs this up.

The marine area currently represents 5.5% of the total. The increase would make this 21% and would turn Cabrera into the national park with the greatest diversity of marine ecosystems.

The area is described as the Mediterranean in miniature. It includes sea grass meadows, coralline gardens, deep coral banks and important zones for cetaceans (whales, dolphins) and other large migratory fish.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the park, and national and regional governments have started the formal process for its expansion. The groups which are urging action have demanded that the commission being formed for this purpose operates with "transparent participation". They want to ensure that there is maximum consensus for conserving this "incredible nature".