The volunteer clean-up day is part of the Let’s Clean Up Europe 2023 programme.

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Critical Biological Area of Magaluf

The acting councillor for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, the acting director general of Waste and Environmental Education, Sebastià Sansó, and the acting councillor for the Environment of Calvià Town Council, Rafel Sedano, participated this Tuesday in the volunteer waste clean-up day in the Critical Biological Area (ABC) of Magaluf.

The activity was organised by the City Council in collaboration with the Red Cross and is part of the Let’s Clean Up Europe 2023 programme. The aim was to clean up this area of special biological interest and to raise public awareness of environmental protection, specifically with regard to the problems of waste, especially in the pre-coastal zone.

During the day, 830 kilos of waste were removed and separated into fractions to be taken to the corresponding transfer centre. Thus, 400 kilos of rejected waste, 200 kilos of iron, 150 kilos of glass and 80 kilos of packaging were collected.

Mir thanked the volunteers for their work during the day, as well as for their interest “in preserving an essential ecosystem such as the critical biological area of Magaluf and making the public aware of the importance of avoiding waste in areas such as these, as they compromise terrestrial and marine habitats”.

The Magaluf meadow was an old wetland area of Calvià dedicated to salt production that had been completely degraded since the construction of infrastructures and hotel facilities.

This area constitutes an essential ecosystem with high botanical biodiversity. Within an area of 9 hectares, it is possible to find up to five endemic species of salt marshes (Limonium magallufianum, L. boirae, L. carvalhoi, L. ejulabilis and L. Inexpectans). The last four are listed as endangered in the Balearic Catalogue of Threatened Species. They occupy areas reduced to grassland and with a low number of individuals. All this led to the designation of the area as a Critical Biological Area, as a result of which a series of actions were carried out, such as closures and removal of rubbish with the collaboration of the Calvià Town Council and the property.

Impacts such as the passage of people, the dumping of manure and rubble, the reduced number of individuals, invasive exotic species, etc. still endanger the survival of these unique species. One of the main threats was, at the beginning, the classification of the land as developable. The declassification has made it possible to stop some construction projects and to create a very well preserved green area for the citizens.