Law to protect sites of geological interest in Mallorca

Driving this legislative initiative is Pablo Jiménez of Podemos. He explains that there is already a list of sites of geological interest, as required under national geological heritage law, but he wants to go further so that the Balearics have a specific law to follow the recommendations of the Council of Europe. The purpose would be to give special protection to these sites. A great deal of attention has been paid to them in terms of flora or fauna but far less when it comes to their natural heritage identity. "The cliffs on the islands show the history of the planet," he says.

A list of 169 sites has been drawn up. One example is Sa Foradada in Deya. The Geological Mining Institute describes this as a coastal cliff with a hollow due to marine erosion. "The hole is of considerable size and makes this a unique and very symbolic place in the Balearic Islands." The island of Dragonera is another, while the Menorca Channel is listed because of a volcanic field.

Jiménez adds that a management plan would regulate activities at these sites. "These are sites that are millions of years old. If we don't take care of them, they could be destroyed, especially in a region subjected to the level of pressure that there is. We want the public to know their own land and the identity of the islands."