The Balearic government has treated 92.75 hectares of forest on Ibiza as part of a €1.3 million project funded by the sustainable tourism tax to improve climate resilience and reduce wildfire risks.
Ibiza has accounted for more than half of the forest area treated across the Balearic Islands under a project designed to help woodlands adapt to climate change and strengthen wildfire prevention measures. A total of 92.75 hectares have been treated on Ibiza, compared with 34.08 hectares in Mallorca and 34.02 hectares in Menorca.
The work forms part of the Experimental Adaptation of Balearic Islands Habitats to Climate Change project, funded with €1.3 million from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS).
The project began in December 2024 and was completed in March 2026. Although the original plan called for work across 125 hectares, the total area treated across the three islands ultimately reached 160.85 hectares.
On Ibiza, operations have focused particularly on areas previously affected by wildfires, including Benirràs and Morna. Work there has involved thinning naturally regenerated pine trees to reduce competition between them, encourage healthier growth and reduce the amount of vegetation that could fuel a future fire.
Reducing this vegetation is also intended to create forest areas better able to withstand other climate-related threats, including drought and pest outbreaks.
Reducing vegetation to slow the spread of wildfires
Across the Balearic Islands, the project has included the creation and maintenance of forest fuel breaks designed to make it harder for fires to spread. Forestry management work has also been carried out at locations identified as critical under regional wildfire prevention plans.
Joan Simonet, the Balearic Islands’ regional minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, said the work aims to improve “the ability of forest areas to respond to the effects of climate change”, while strengthening wildfire prevention measures.
Anna Torres, director general for the Natural Environment and Forest Management, explained that reducing vegetation fuel loads and creating breaks in forest continuity can help slow the advance of flames. These measures also support the development of forests that are “more resistant and resilient” to wildfires, droughts and pests.
The work is also intended to reduce competition between trees and encourage their growth, while increasing the forests’ capacity to absorb and store CO₂.
The measures form part of the objectives set out in the Balearic Islands’ Annual Forest Fire Defence Plan, which aims to reduce the risk of major wildfires and strengthen the resilience of forest areas to the effects of climate change.