More protected areas, but more pressure and fewer resources

PalmAt the beginning of the 21st century, the Balearic Islands entered a new phase of economic growth with a territory already under considerable strain. 25 years later, the islands' landscape tells a story of contrasts: more protected areas and greater environmental awareness, but also increased human pressure, fewer natural resources, and the increasingly visible effects of climate change.

Adverse weather

Adverse weather events are becoming increasingly frequent in the Balearic Islands. The 1990 Albufera flood, when 134 liters per square meter of rain fell in Alcúdia, was just a harbinger of what would happen years later, in 2018, in Sant Llorenç. A flash flood killed 13 people. Irregular, short, and intense rainfall has become more common in the Islands over the first 25 years of this century. In contrast, another consequence of this rainfall pattern is the drought that is becoming increasingly prevalent. Currently, Menorca, Manacor-Felanitx, Palma-Alcúdia, Tramuntana, and Ibiza are under a water pre-alert, while Pla de Mallorca and Artà remain under alert. Temperatures have been steadily rising since the beginning of the 21st century. In 2014, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) recorded the warmest January on record for the Islands. Average sea surface temperatures also reached unprecedented anomalies in 2025, but researchers from the Balearic Islands Coastal Forecasting and Observation System (SOCIB) also detected a record "heat content" in deeper layers, and that the warming trend is even greater at 500 meters. The surface temperature of the Balearic Sea has increased by 0.4 degrees per decade since 1982.

The extreme heat, caused by the abandonment of agricultural land, leads to a large accumulation of biomass in the Balearic Islands' forests. This has resulted in the forests becoming tinderboxes in the event of a fire. While the number of fires has decreased in recent years, their intensity and the difficulty of containing them have not. The 2013 fire in Estellencs, Calvià, and Andratx, as well as the 2024 Albufera fire, are prime examples. However, firefighting resources have increased, and the initial response is "doing a good job," according to Joan Carles Palerm, president of GEN-GOB. He adds that "we now have detection and firefighting equipment that was unavailable 25 years ago."

Waste

Year after year, the Balearic Islands see an increase in the number of visitors they receive during the tourist season. In Mallorca, packaging waste, which totaled 1,884.48 tons in January 2024, rose to 3,247.98 tons by August of the same year. Menorca, for example, saw an increase in glass waste from 162.86 tons to 632.24 tons. While it is true that, in terms of waste, the implementation of measures such as door-to-door collection and the installation of specific recycling containers has made the task easier, "it is not enough," Palermo believes. Along the same lines, he says that the institutions "work well in the short term and, with luck, in the medium term, but not in the long term." He cites the example of the Ca na Putxa landfill, which has only a few years of useful life remaining, so manure will be transferred from Ibiza to Mallorca for processing at Son Reus. "I think this will have a larger carbon footprint than building an incinerator, but we're too late to plan things properly," he points out.

Conserving species and territory

In the first 25 years of the century, "undeniable progress has been made in protecting species and natural areas," according to Miquel Camps, Territorial Policy Coordinator for GOB Menorca. The Natura 2000 network in the Balearic Islands developed from the creation of the European network in 1992, when the European Union established the legal framework for protecting habitats and species of community interest. Following this directive, Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs), among others, were established in the Balearic Islands. The management of these areas has been consolidated over the years with regional decrees establishing specific management plans. Despite the establishment of these protected areas, Camps warns that they lack "management plans" for their implementation.

At sea, protective regulations such as the Posidonia Decree have also been implemented, and the number of delimited marine reserves has increased, while the fleet of trawlers has decreased. This fishing method went from 44 vessels in 2014 to 31 in 2023, according to data from the Balearic Sea Report. "Fishermen are increasingly aware of the importance of doing things right," say sources from the Marilles Foundation. Regarding the conservation of animal species in the Islands, Palermo points out that the introduction of invasive species has increased, as is the case with snakes in Ibiza, which have directly attacked native species. Along the same lines, he laments that in this respect, "nothing has improved over the years."