The foundation allocated 548,000 euros to environmental projects in 2023, its 15th anniversary year
Ibiza, 17 June 2024 – IbizaPreservation allocated 548,000 euros to environmental projects in 2023, the year of its fifteenth anniversary, according to its most recent annual report. This amount, the highest in its history, reflects the entity’s continued commitment to environmental conservation in Ibiza and Formentera.
Since its creation in 2008, the foundation has allocated more than 2.5 million euros to around 60 environmental projects, contributing significantly to the sustainability of the islands. Since 2018, the majority of these funds have been allocated to the foundation’s own projects, including Ibiza Produce and the Sustainability Observatory, and to finance the coordination work of the Plastic Free Ibiza and Formentera alliance formed by 12 other entities.
Among the new initiatives that the foundation carried out in 2023, the Protegim Ses Sargantanes project stands out, dedicated to the protection of the Ibiza wall lizard against invasive snakes, with 36,000 euros invested, 100 lizard sanctuaries installed, 40 traps placed in protected natural areas such as Ses Feixes and the Ses Salines natural park, and 106 snakes captured in these areas.
In addition, during the same year, the organisation carried out a hydrological design course with so-called “key line” principles, awareness days on the circular economy aimed at the business sector, and a series of educational and community initiatives, such as zero waste workshops using local produce, or a family fun day to raise awareness about lizards among the local community.
The foundation also reports having been selected by the European Erasmus + program to carry out a new project – Zero Waste Chefs EU – in collaboration with vocational training centers in Ibiza and Tallinn, Estonia , instructing teachers and students in techniques on zero food waste and creating educational tools. The development of this project, in 2024, has motivated the foundation to reformulate its work within the Plastic Free alliance to go a step beyond the fight against plastic pollution and to create a new Circular Economy program of its own, whose objective is to tackle zero waste issues from a holistic perspective.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Philip Muelder, thanked the local community for their support and highlighted the stability this gave the foundation when it comes to scaling up its activities and its positive impact: “Today there is a marked difference in the level of interest and support that all sectors give to all those issues related to sustainability. This translates directly into greater fundraising, which gives us the financial stability necessary to expand our strategic programs and invest in projects that will yield results in the short, medium and long term,”explained Muelder in his foreword to the report.
Significant impact
IbizaPreservation has chalked up many significant achievements throughout its 15-year history. Some of the most notable include removing 30,467kg of plastic from the supply chain through the Plastic Free Balearics certification, planting 2,350 trees, producing five annual sustainability reports from its Sustainability Observatory or mapping the entire 572km² of the island of Ibiza in a detailed land use study. In addition, it has awarded 366 scholarships to educate schoolchildren about the marine environment, funded the mapping of 150km² of Posidonia meadows, and created an online directory listing 110 local products on the Ibiza Produce website.
To date, one of the contributions of which the foundation is most proud is the enactment of a state law prohibiting hydrocarbon prospecting in waters of Spanish territory through the Mar Blava Alliance, of which IbizaPreservation was one of the founding entities in 2013, in response to oil prospecting in the waters of Ibiza and Formentera. In March 2021, after a long and hard campaign, the Mar Blava Alliance achieved the definitive ban on new oil and gas projects in all waters of Spanish territory.
Despite its positive impact on the local environment, IbizaPreservation is aware that there is still much to be done. “Looking ahead to the next 15 years, we face even greater and more urgent challenges. Climate change, biodiversity loss and the ever-increasing generation of waste are some of the threats that require our immediate attention and decisive action,” warned Inma Saranova, the foundation’s executive director.
The report can be downloaded from the website ibizapreservation.org in the “About Us” section or by clicking here.
