The Balearic Islands are a unique enclave in the Mediterranean. They possess singular biodiversity, endemic species, their own geology and paleontology, and a scientific community that has been studying them for decades. However, all this knowledge is scattered among the UIB, associations, and private collections, without a major facility that preserves it and, above all, makes it accessible to the public. The Islands do not have a major public natural history museum. Geography PhD Guillem Pons describes the situation as an "anomaly." There is also no major botanical garden or major maritime museum.