Arborists in Spain question the felling of beautiful shade trees in Palma

PalmThe Spanish Association of Arboriculture (AEA) has questioned the felling of several beautiful shade trees this Thursday by the Palma City Council in Llorenç Villalonga Square, citing technical safety reasons. The organization has demanded greater technical and scientific rigor from the council regarding the removal of trees considered part of the Balearic capital's heritage.

In a statement, the organization considers it "hardly credible" that all the trees in this Palma square present an extreme risk justifying their removal. Therefore, the association has denounced the fact that their vitality, structural condition, and actual level of risk were not individually assessed, nor were possible rotten trees or cavities analyzed using scientific techniques such as tomography. The AEA emphasized that mature trees provide significant ecosystem, social, and cultural benefits, and recalled that the City Council signed the Charter of the Rights of Trees in the City, which prioritizes the conservation of established trees and the search for alternatives to felling.

The association has insisted that the management of urban trees must be based on rigorous technical assessments and has warned that the indiscriminate removal of mature trees is often due to a lack of knowledge or interests unrelated to their protection. Two days ago, the Administrative Court number 4 of Palma It withdrew the precautionary measure adopted on December 11 at the request of an entity in relation to the restitution of the 18 specimens of beautiful shade in Llorenç Villalonga Square.

The court recognized in its ruling the municipal responsibility to guarantee the safety of citizens, taking into account the technical reports from the Municipal Parks and Gardens Service. Therefore, the Palma City Council (Cort) carried out the felling of the affected trees this Thursday, which will be replaced by 20 new trees.