Xisco Avellà, the person who forged the environmentalism of the Balearic Islands

PalmI still can't believe the news: Xisco Avellà He was leaving us forever. It was Pep Lluís Pol who told me on Tuesday morning, "Yesterday Xisco set sail on his final voyage." It was hard to believe, especially since just a few days before he himself had told me he was feeling better. Suddenly, stories, anecdotes, campaigns, situations, events… all starring him began flooding my mind.

We believe that if there is a key figure in the environmental movement in the Balearic Islands, and therefore in the GOB (Balearic Ornithological Group), it is Xisco, not only for his term as president (the longest of all, eight years), but also for his contribution from the very first day the group was created, 52 years ago now: a tireless volunteer, a worker who embodied the principles that shaped and consolidated the environmental movement.

Omnipresent in the GOVERNMENT

From the first day I started working at the GOVERNMENTI noticed that Xisco was everywhere. He was there all day, doing work in the library, preparing the magazine. The EcologistHe would contribute ideas for a campaign or an activity, write an article, organize an event, and so on. And always with his characteristic sense of humor, imitating everyone with great charm. Because the first lesson one learned from Xisco is that to face the serious environmental problems we suffer as a society, a large dose of humor and optimism is necessary.

He, along with other colleagues, was one of the visible faces and a cornerstone of the strategic shift that GOB underwent in the late 1980s, a period that many of us consider key to the modernization of conservationism and environmentalism in the Balearic Islands.

The organization transitioned from a specifically ornithological group to playing a key role in raising environmental awareness. This was especially true in the mid-1980s, with significant campaigns that began to speak out against a development model that had been implemented without any regard for the land or its people. The campaign to defend Cabrera, which culminated in the declaration of the National Park, the "Save Mondragó" campaign, the Covetes campaign, the campaigns against golf courses, "No More Marinas," the defense of the Natural Spaces Law, campaigns such as "No More Housing Developments," and those against highway construction are examples of the organization's achievements.

Preservation was no longer an impossible task. The message that was taking hold was that the collective and organized work of citizens was powerful. Xisco Avellà defended the citizens' legislative initiative against waste incineration in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands. And, of course, he continued his work as a naturalist, also promoting ornithology courses, species conservation campaigns, and publications.

Passion and rigor

Xisco was a key figure in the GOB (Balearic Ornithological Group) because of his passion and dedication, but also because of the rigor of his work and approach. This has been another of the values that have become a guiding principle within the organization and the island's environmental movement: well-documented work based on technical criteria has always been a hallmark of the GOB's activities.

Practically from the beginning, in 1973, Xisco was present throughout much of the GOB's history, as a volunteer, as a member of the board of directors, as president (from 1989 to 1996), as a collaborator, as librarian, and as editor of the magazine. The Ecologist

He also represents a generation that understood that environmentalism wasn't just the occasional defense of a specific place or species, but a way of intervening in society: with data and with a short-, medium-, and long-term perspective. His name is now inseparable from the modern history of environmental advocacy in Mallorca and the Balearic Islands.

Another passion: teaching

I wouldn't want to finish without mentioning one of his other passions: teaching. He was a professor and chair of Natural Sciences for 40 years at several secondary schools in Mallorca, where his students formed a strong bond with him and felt immense admiration, something I witnessed firsthand. Many generations discovered the environment, the natural world, and its importance thanks to Xisco's enthusiastic and tireless teaching.

He also had a great passion for the Mediterranean seal. With the aim of studying this ancient marine mammal and ensuring its preservation throughout the Mediterranean, he created the Mediterranean Seal Protection Fund and carried out awareness campaigns along the Mediterranean coast, which again served as a lesson, in this case, in solidarity with less affluent communities. Xisco traveled to various African countries and secured funding to promote environmental conservation.

Mallorca, environmentalism, friends... we feel a little orphaned. A leading figure and a fundamental person in the GOB has passed away, an irreplaceable individual, unwaveringly committed. He leaves a void that cannot be filled. We will miss him dearly. We have his expertise to continue defending the natural heritage that belongs to us as a society.