Palma.The ecologists claim that the government policy could have a very negative impact on the Tramuntana mountain range which was declared a World Heritage Site earlier this year by the United Nations Economic and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO). GOB, which sent its report to the World Heritage Committee in Paris, is claiming that the conservation of the Majorcan mountain range could be in jeopardy as a result of the cuts.
GOB representatives Antoni Muñoz and Jaume Adrover said that their move had the intention of making UNESCO aware that the Partido Popular government could be allowing urban development which would mean that the Tramuntana would lose its World Heritage status.
GOB pointed out that when UNESCO made its report on the Tramuntana after the Council of Majorca made application for the World Heritage Site status, UNESCO had said that urban pressure was still threatening the preservation of the unique mountain environment and culture and that therefore the regional government had a responsibility to maximise its protection.
Part of the report that GOB handed to the Committee in Paris was based on declarations by Balearic Environment Minister Gabriel Company, and other government members who apparently said months ago that they were planning significant cuts in territory protection funds.
GOB's report also said that President Bauzá himself had not ruled out reviving five development projects in the Tramuntana that had been put on a backburner, including Es Guix in Escorca. Neither has he discounted using the government's emergency powers to modify already-existing territory legislation.