Mallorca Preservation Foundation was created in 2017, although the original idea, Ibiza Preservation, was born in the largest of the pitiusas by the hand of ecologist, investor and philanthropist Ben Goldsmith fifteen years earlier. Since its inception, the project has been so successful that the model has been replicated all over the world: in the Caribbean, in Italy, in Greece... and in Mallorca, of course. Its objective? "To preserve the island's environment through projects and entities thanks to the ability to raise funding from people and companies with a conscience". They are Ana Riera, executive director; Maria Oliver, marketing director, and Maria Elisa Martinez, MAPF's development director.
The three of them captain this ship, which has a board of directors that directs the foundation's strategy, and a group of experts, technicians and volunteers with different profiles who contribute their grain of sand to raise funds and carry out the projects. "Part of MAPF's value is to minimize the expense in structure," they tell us, something that is possible "thanks to the number of volunteers who give their knowledge to the projects we promote."
Love of the environment is the bond that unites the people who form part, in one way or another, of MAPF, a community that has not stopped growing in recent years. "Donors don't just contribute money, in a get together we come together like a family comes together. We create a community, donors invite other donors" and thus weave a network of passionate people who work altruistically, but also, increasingly, of more companies that want to carry out some initiative or link with the island, with the environment, in a proactive way.
"The Balearic Islands are very advanced in environmental issues".
Mallorca Preservation's philosophy is simple and noble: "act locally to have a global impact". In tune with this purpose, the areas covered by the foundation are increasingly diverse: maritime protection, sustainable agriculture, local and circular economy, endangered fauna, waste management... because, as Ana Riera reflects, "the objective is the environment, but we try to be global because everything is interrelated. The beauty of Mallorca Preservation is its ability to approach everything from many different fronts".
Multifaceted and transversal, the work is never carried out alone. As a result of the collaboration with the regional administration and the organizations Fundación Palma Aquarium, Pequeñas Islas del Mediterráneo, Fundación Save The Med, Marilles Foundation, Shark Med and the Mallorca Preservation Foundation itself, dedicated to marine conservation, the Acción Stellaris project was born, an initiative that ensures the reproduction and recovery of alitanes, essential to ensure the diversity of species, maintain the health of marine ecosystems and preserve coral reefs. Since the project began, more than 100 hatchlings have been born, they proudly tell us. "It is very nice that so many entities sit down to work together" share, enthusiastically, from MAPF, who, for this project, have also obtained the essential support of the fishermen's guilds of the Balearic Islands.
Beyond the sea, on land, MAPF has also worked closely with APAEMA (Associació de productors i producers d'agricultura ecològica de Mallorca) in order to reduce the volume of plastics used in their activity that end up, normally, in landfills or buried in the ground. Thus, the foundation has financially supported producers in the purchase of bioplastic made from potato starch, saving, in 2019, 1,550 kg of plastics and 2,750 kg in 2020.
Since its founding in Ibiza, the foundation's work has spread and branched out into other territories under the umbrella of Conservation Collective, which supports, oversees and manages projects from the Caribbean Sea to Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra. Each member association is independent and has its own funding, but a constant exchange of ideas is generated. In addition, the model pursues the agility of the initiatives and for this the network of local collaborators, individually and corporately, is essential. In the Balearic Islands, they tell us, we are lucky. "Here we start from a very good base: an evolved society, institutions with set objectives, more and more companies are becoming aware, the European directive supports us... The Balearic Islands are very advanced in environmental issues".
"We are not looking for the bad guys in the movie. We try to make the economy go hand in hand with what we do".
His message is inspiring and his optimism is contagious. It's no coincidence. The tone of Mallorca Preservation's mission is always positive, without pointing fingers or blaming, because "we are not looking for the bad guys in the movie. We try to make the economy go hand in hand with what we do". Yes, it is possible to conserve the environment and, at the same time, support economic activity. So much so that Onda Cero has given them, this year, the Onda Cero Mallorca Environment Award in recognition of their tireless work.
To date, Mallorca Preservation has raised 500,000 € and has participated in 21 projects, most of them in the last three years, after the German businessman Hans Lenz took over the direction of the foundation, according to Ana, María and María Elisa. Although they began by researching, contacting and looking for projects from the foundation, today almost 50% of the initiatives they carry out are proposed by people, organizations and local companies that are concerned about the environment, and they analyze them and determine how to best approach them. This is the power of unity. The beauty of joining conscience and the same vision of the future. The luck of sharing the love for what surrounds us, for our island.
