Nearly 850 property owners built villas on rural land in Mallorca between 2021 and 2024. The figure, presented last week by the environmental activist collective Terraferida, has reignited the debate over construction in the island’s countryside. Under current law, building single-family homes on rural land in Mallorca is permitted. As long as the legal framework allows it, property owners should be free to build in the countryside. A society governed by the rule of law cannot selectively deny freedoms it has itself granted.
Terraferida’s criticism is nevertheless well founded. The growing number of villas on rural land is encroaching on agricultural areas and displacing farms that provide essential services to the wider population. New uses—such as swimming pools or private golf courses—consume vast amounts of water and contribute to groundwater pollution through wastewater. Soil is sealed, paths are paved over, historic routes are blocked. The cumulative effect is a rise in housing and consumer prices.
Still, individual freedom deserves respect. Rather than resorting to outright bans, responsibility should be demanded of those who choose to build, encouraging them to treat Mallorcan land with care and restraint. Change achieved through voluntary awareness is ultimately more sustainable than change imposed by decree.
Environmentally harmful excesses—such as the construction of a private golf course —are unnecessary. The case uncovered by Terraferida in Llucmajor is emblematic. Even here, however, the goal should be to make those responsible fully aware of the consequences of their actions, prompting a reassessment rather than imposing blanket prohibitions.
For this reason, Terraferida’s call for an immediate moratorium on all construction on rural land goes too far. A targeted public awareness campaign highlighting the ecological costs of building in the countryside would be a more balanced response. It would safeguard environmental concerns while preserving the legitimate freedoms of property owners.