2023-11-28 11:03:08
The need for protection of marine biodiversity It has been the focus of attention of local and national institutions for months. In the Mediterranean Sea and, specifically, in the Balearic Islands, we find one of the greatest global underwater treasures, the preservation of which is one of the main environmental concerns. In it Mediterranean Sea Daywe put the focus on the coralline bottoms and the Posidonia Oceanicakey actors in the future of our sea.
The unknown treasure of the Mediterranean
Los coralline bottoms constitute the most complex and important of the biostructures of our seas and are key to preserving the health of the seas and oceans. In them, animal and plant life combine, creating a symbiosis in which they need each other to survive. They are the habitat of many species, where they also find food to feed on.
This type of seabed constitutes the ecosystems with the greatest biodiversity on our coasts, housing more than 300 species of algae and some 1,300 identified animals, 20% of the species present in the entire Mediterranean. In fact, Spain is the second country in the European Union with the greatest marine biodiversity, hosting more than 10,000 species.
Furthermore, in the depths of Ibiza there are meadows of Posidonia oceanica kilometers of more than 100,000 years of life. It is a single living being recognized as the longest and most extensive on the planet and a distinguished UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose conservation is essential to maintain the Balearic and Mediterranean underwater ecosystem. And, to be able to continue enjoying the good state of our seas and beaches.
Beyond the environment
In May, the Blue Life Foundation (Sustainable Ibiza) presented a pilot project that seeks to promote regenerative tourism in the Posidonia meadows. “Restore Posidonia and Coral Ibiza” is a pioneering project in Spain and its main objective is to encourage citizen participation to restore the Posidonia meadows and the coral reefs of the Mediterranean between 2023 and 2028.
“Education is very important, for citizens to understand that with small gestures they can contribute to the environment. And tourism is also a way to achieve this. It is impossible to do this job individually.“, declares Óscar Caro, president of the Blue Life Foundation (Sustainable Ibiza).
According to Caro, the initiative also contributes to the diversification of the tourist offer of Ibiza, the Balearic Islands and Spain, enabling the generation of work and activity, favoring territorial cohesion and promoting the deseasonalization of the complementary offer of the destination. Definitely, “This provides a new tourism model and helps the Spain brand to be associated with something more than sun, beach and leisure. It favors the connection of our country to the protection of the environment and, especially, the marine environment. It also helps boost the blue economy”.
Everything for the Mediterranean
The national pilot initiative that is being developed in the Pitiusas, in addition to regenerating the damaged Posidonia areas, also seeks identify and map new populations of coral and areas where especially the species of red gorgonians (P. clavata) and white (E. singular) are present, as well as evaluate their status, reproduction patterns and the threats to which they are exposed.
Based on the information collected, a management, monitoring and conservation plan that includes protection measures will be developed, together with the competent administrations and research centers. The ultimate goal is to guarantee the long-term survival of these species in the Mediterranean and their natural habitat.
The importance of Posidonia and coral
The conservation and restoration of coral populations and Posidonia meadows can help protect biodiversity and improve water quality in the Mediterranean. These species are essential to the marine ecosystem and provide vital habitat for a variety of species such as fish and mollusks. In addition, they help combat climate change, since coral and Posidonia meadows have the capacity to store carbon and reduce the acidification of seas and oceans.
Replanting: the beginning of everything
Last September the first seedling replanting of Posidonia in Ibiza. The objective of this phase of the Restaura Posidonia project, which will be repeated in 2024, is to begin, through different methodologies, the active restoration of the areas impacted by human activity in the Puig des Molins meadow in Ibiza.
Experiment with new formulas that contribute to generating knowledge; new methods and professional training in an area as innovative as the restoration of Posidonia, for its subsequent transfer to other areas of special interest. And, promote education, awareness and participation of visitors and local communities in the conservation of this lung of the Mediterranean.
With the more than a thousand seedlings manually inserted one by one into the meadow, nature will take its course and the team will monitor the results for years to come. The growth will be one to three centimeters each year, and we will have to wait decades, perhaps centuries, to see them in their adult state.
For his part, Jorge Terrados, CSIC-IMEDEA researcher, pointed out that “andThe start of this restoration project is very important, since we demonstrate that it is possible to restore and plant Posidonia, but it is also interesting to make known that it is an expensive, slow process that requires many resources. And that, evidently, what we must do as a society is restore the minimum and preserve the maximum”.
A multidisciplinary approach to meet the challenge
He Blue Life Foundation projectrecognized as one of the best national projects in favor of the conservation of the marine environment, promotes not only environmental conservation but also the paradigm shift towards a new way of relating to nature and the emergence of a blue economy and a regenerative culture in Spain.
With projects like Restore Posidoniathe Blue Life Foundation, within the framework of the Sustainable Ibiza program, also contributes to promoting a new travel trend and a new model of territorial and tourism development in Ibiza, the Balearic Islands and the whole of Spain in which the impact of tourists about the place they visit adds positively and contributes in an immersive way to caring for the marine environment and improving the quality of life of the local community.
Press contact: Carmen Ibáñez Gil 666 153 497
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