The Balearic Parliament approves the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Law

Yesterday, 1st February 2023, the Parliament of the Balearic Islands approved the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Law, a historic event for our island as it is the first law made expressly for a biosphere reserve in the whole of Spain, something that will undoubtedly allow us to advance towards our objectives. Thirty years after the declaration of Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, Menorca is moving towards the objectives that motivated this designation, thanks to a law that makes sustainability the cross-cutting theme of its management, and which will be a strategic and indispensable instrument for facing the future environmental challenges of our island.

What is the focus of this law?

The aim and purpose of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Act is to establish a legal regime of protection, planning and specific management of Menorca as a biosphere reserve, and to consolidate the model of planning, management and sustainable and harmonious development of Menorca, to protect its natural, landscape, historical, linguistic and cultural, tangible and intangible heritage, and to pursue the welfare and prosperity of its citizens. It aims to make progress in consolidated aspects such as land planning, the protection of natural areas, the protection and management of historical heritage, as well as the current challenges of the climate emergency, the process of decarbonisation, the tourism model, sustainable mobility, the improvement of water resources, the preservation of the primary sector activity, the management of the marine environment with sustainability criteria or the promotion of a more sustainable food model, to give some examples.

For more information on the law, please see: