The Consell de Mallorca will reinforce its protection with a revision of the Management Plan, which will incorporate the responsible and sustainable tourism criteria recommended by Unesco.
The Consell de Mallorca is celebrating thirteen years of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range as a World Heritage site, with a firm commitment to working towards more sustainable tourism. The main anniversary ceremony took place at the Raixa clastra and was attended by the President of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés; the Councilor of the Presidency, Antoni Fuster; and the Island Director of Serra de Tramuntana, Antoni Solivellas.
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The Serra de Tramuntana celebrates thirteen years since it was declared a World Heritage Site
Unesco declared the Serra de Tramuntana a World Heritage Site in the Cultural Landscape category on 29 June 2011, at the Paris Assembly, considering it a place of exceptional unique value in the world, the result of the exchange of knowledge between cultures over the centuries, creating an almost perfect symbiosis between the action of humans and nature. The Sierra is a living territory, where culture, traditions, aesthetics, spirituality and identity blend. As a result of the Declaration, the Sierra de Tramuntana World Heritage Consortium was created to conserve and improve the landscape, as well as to raise awareness of its values among the population.
Its Management Plan, which also has the approval of Unesco, is organised into five programmes (communication and participation, economic development, dissemination, heritage and visitor management), which the Consell de Mallorca now wants to update to adapt it to the new reality of the island, where the population, mobility and tourist pressure have increased. For this reason, today the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, announced the adhesion to the Charter on Cultural Heritage Tourism of ICOMOS, the non-governmental organisation associated with Unesco.
Llorenç Galmés explained that “it is essential that we adapt to new circumstances and challenges to guarantee the protection and conservation of this unique heritage”.
Adhering to this charter will involve incorporating its principles into the revision of the Consortium’s management plan. In this way, the protection of cultural heritage will be placed at the heart of responsible cultural tourism management and will be planned according to visitor capacity. Climate action policies and sustainability measures will also be integrated into the new plan, and it will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal
Celebration events
The anniversary was attended by around fifty people, all of them personally or professionally linked to the Serra de Tramuntana. The attendees enjoyed a short musical performance by the duo Voicello, with Carme Garí on vocals and Biel Fiol on cello; and a tasting of products with the Serra de Tramuntana World Heritage designation, organised by the Capvespre Centre in Sóller.
Also as part of the anniversary celebrations, on Friday morning there will be a meeting of mayors of the Serra de Tramuntana, and in the afternoon, in the courtyard of the Escolania de Lluc, there will be a concert by the bagpiper Hevia.
In addition, the book El llegat cultural de la Serra de Tramuntana by Lourdes Melis was presented this week and distributed as a gift to all those attending the Raixa festival.
Participation Council
Before the anniversary celebrations, the annual plenary meeting of the Participation Council, the highest consultative body of the Serra de Tramuntana Consortium brings together the collective interests of all the sectors – academic, cultural, professional, economic and volunteer – involved in the conservation of the Serra de Tramuntana, was also held at the Clastra de Raixa.
In this context, the Serra de Tramuntana Island Director, Antoni Solivellas, explained what the Consortium has been doing this year, highlighting the creation of the post of Director Manager, who will be joining the Consortium shortly.