Participants will discover firsthand how the Coastal Health Monitoring Scheme team works during four days open to the public
Ibiza, July 7, 2026 – Ibiza & Formentera Preservation, together with the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), has launched a call for citizens to participate this summer in a scientific study on the health of the Balearic coast . This year, for the first time, the environmental foundation is co-financing the Coastal Health Monitoring Scheme (CHMS) , the environmental monitoring program developed by the UIB’s Interdisciplinary Ecology Research Group, which assesses the health of the Balearic Islands’ coastal ecosystems. As part of this collaboration, four open days will be held in Ibiza and Formentera to bring marine research closer to the community. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn firsthand how fieldwork is conducted, discover the biodiversity of the coastline, and participate in observation and environmental education activities.
The workshops will allow participants to accompany the CHMS scientific team during a real sampling day, learn about the methodologies used, and understand how the data used to assess the health of the coastline is obtained. Throughout the activity, participants will discover some of the species and habitats being monitored, the main threats facing the marine environment , and how the information obtained through the program guides conservation strategies. The activities are designed to be educational and accessible to anyone interested, regardless of prior knowledge.
The first event open to the public will be held on July 18th at Punta des Molí (Sant Antoni) , followed by a second on July 25th at S’Argamassa (Santa Eulària des Riu) . Activities will continue on August 29th at Pou des Lleó (Santa Eulària des Riu) and conclude on September 18th at S’Illa de s’Aigua Dolça (Formentera) . Participation is free and requires prior registration via email at info@ibizapreservation.org . The organizers recommend wearing comfortable clothing, a swimsuit, and bringing a towel and appropriate footwear for the beach or rocks.
“The CHMS doesn’t just compile an inventory of the species that live along our coastline. Most of the organisms we monitor are bioindicator species, meaning species whose abundance, size, or conservation status provide us with invaluable information about the health of coastal ecosystems. By analyzing how their populations evolve , we can detect environmental changes long before they become evident to the naked eye . A good example is sea cucumbers, whose size and abundance provide information about the amount of organic matter accumulated in the sediments and, indirectly, about the degree of human pressure or the input of nutrients from land. Similarly, a high density of sea urchins often indicates an ecological imbalance associated with a lower abundance of predatory fish. Taken together, these species act as true sentinels of the coastline and allow us to understand how coastal ecosystems evolve and anticipate potential degradation processes,” explains Dr. Samuel Pinya , principal investigator of the Interdisciplinary Ecology Research Group at the UIB and director of the CHMS.
The CHMS is a scientific environmental monitoring program created in 2021 by the university to continuously assess the health and resilience of the Balearic Islands’ coastal ecosystems in the face of climate change and human pressures. It has a network of 50 monitoring stations distributed throughout the archipelago , 15 of which are located in Ibiza and Formentera, where standardized sampling campaigns are carried out annually to analyze the evolution of biodiversity and various environmental indicators. The value of the CHMS lies precisely in maintaining this continuous monitoring, allowing for the detection of ecological changes that would go unnoticed in one-off studies.
The program monitors various biological groups particularly sensitive to alterations in the marine environment, such as echinoderms—sea urchins, starfish, and sea cucumbers—sponges, mollusks, crustaceans, and coastal fish. It analyzes different environmental parameters of the seabed to understand how coastal ecosystems are evolving. It also analyzes the presence of microplastics and heavy metals in marine species of ecological and commercial interest, as well as indicators of the health status of marine fauna. All this information allows for the detection of early ecological changes , understanding the evolution of biodiversity, and guiding conservation and management strategies based on scientific evidence. The information obtained also serves as a support tool for decision-making regarding the conservation and management of the Balearic coastline.
Since its inception, the CHMS has documented phenomena such as mass mortality events in echinoderms, the decline of certain sponge species associated with rising water temperatures, the expansion of tropical species, and the increasing presence of microplastics in marine organisms. These findings have highlighted the enormous value of the Pitiusas coastline as a natural laboratory for studying the local effects of climate change in the western Mediterranean.
“Joining the Coastal Health Monitoring Scheme allows us to support a leading scientific program in the Balearic Islands and contribute to consolidating continuous monitoring of the coastal ecosystems of Ibiza and Formentera. Furthermore, this collaboration gives us the opportunity to bring research closer to the public, promoting knowledge, awareness, and participation as fundamental tools for conserving our natural heritage,” says Itziar Arratibel , Programs Director of Ibiza & Formentera Preservation and coordinator of the initiative from the environmental foundation.
