Marine Forum. Second Edition

The Ibiza and Formentera Marine Forum is already warming up. The uncertainty of the health situation has led its organisers to create an event ready to be held both in person and online. Thanks to the collaboration of IB3 Television, the lectures can be followed live on the promoter's social networks and on the regional body's own website.

The second edition of the Mario Forum, to which the Future Forum, developed by children and young people, will be added as an integral part, will have 30 speakers from all the sectors involved in the defence of the environment in general and the marine environment in particular: administrations, associations and the business sector.

For Aniol Esteban, director of the Marilles Foundation, member of the promotion team and speaker at the Forum: "This edition comes at a time of crisis. But it is precisely at times like the one we are living through that we must make the greatest commitment to the conservation of our sea. The sea gives us economic prosperity and well-being. Conservation of the sea and the coast of the islands must be at the heart of the recovery plan. This message will be heard loud and clear during the forum, and we hope that the echo will reach all of the Balearic Islands and beyond.

For her part, Sandra Benbeniste, director of IbizaPreservation, added that "we want all the sectors involved to be represented at the Forum. We want to reach the largest possible audience. We are sure that the Future Forum will also help us to listen to and learn what the generations that are currently being educated in schools and institutes think. And at the same time, we want to listen to experts, politicians and society. Defending the environment and achieving sustainability must be everyone's job".

Future Forum

On Thursday morning, 5 November, the first session of the Future Forum will take place. Given the situation of the schools by the Covid-19, the security measures adopted and the organization of the bubble groups in the centres, it has been decided that the development of this event will be all online.

"In this edition 5 schools are participating, each of them with a marine project that they have been working on for months and which will be presented at the Forum through a video and an introduction by the young people. In addition, we have two presentations that we believe can be very inspiring for schoolchildren. First, Theresa Zabell, Olympic sailing medalist and president of the

of the Ecomar Foundation. Agustí Torres, President of the Shark Med Foundation, which works on the study and conservation of sharks in the Western Mediterranean, with special interest in the Balearic Islands, will also speak.

Marine Forum

On Thursday afternoon, the opening session will take place and will be divided in two. The afternoon will begin with presentations by the oceanographers Carlos Duarte and Enric Sala, and by Gloria Fluxá, who is vice-president and director of sustainability for the Iberostar group. Manu San Félix, a marine biologist and member of the Forum's promotion team, will act as moderator. "We believe that this is a high level start and we are sure that the opinions of the four can serve as a source of inspiration for everyone," said Sandra Benbeniste.

The day will end with an institutional round table moderated by the director of trasnmedia of IB3 Television, Jaume Perelló, with the participation of Miquel Mir, Balearic Minister of the Environment; Vicent Marí, President of the Consell d'Eivissa; Alejandra Ferrer, President of the Consell de Formentera; and Josep Marí Ribas, Vice-President of the FELIB and Mayor of Sant Josep de sa Talaia. They will discuss the state of marine ecosystems, waste, single-use plastics, and the advances and setbacks that have occurred in this 2020 due to the health crisis.

On Friday morning, 6 November, four panels will be held. The first, Projects in Action, has been set up as a showcase for 8 NGOs from the Balearic Islands to share the main achievements and challenges of one of the projects they are working on through micro-papers. The initiatives and projects of the Fishermen's Guild of Ibiza, Mar Blava Alliance, GEN-GOB, Creatives for the Planet, Cleanwave, Salvem sa Badia, Noctiluca and Plastic Free Ibiza will kick off the second day of the Forum

The second panel will deal with water quality. It will be attended by the CSIC researcher and head of the National Reference Laboratory for mollusc diseases, Antonio Figueras; Juan Vicente Roselló, manager of the Sant Antoni Nautical Club, and Juan Calvo, general secretary of the Balearic Islands Water and Environmental Quality Agency, who will also moderate this panel.

In the third, protection of coastal habitats, which will be moderated by Aniol Esteban, director of the Marilles Foundation, the participants will include Salud Deudero, research professor at the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands and senior scientist at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography; Marta Sales, biologist and project coordinator at the Socio-Environmental Observatory of Menorca; and Enrique Ballesteros, scientific researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Blanes (CEAB-CSIC).

The role of business in sustainability

The fourth and final panel will feature Marcos Marí, Vice President of Insotel Group; Marc Rahola, founder and CEO of OD Group; David Reartes, chef and entrepreneur; and Rafael Tur, lawyer and entrepreneur. Sandra Benbeniste, will be in charge of the moderation.

"With this panel and the technical session of the afternoon we want to give prominence to the role of companies in relation to sustainability. They are the main protagonists in the change that needs to take place", said the director of IbizaPreservation.

The second edition of the Marine Forum will close with a participatory workshop with companies to draw up the 2020 Forum commitments in terms of sustainability, this year focusing on the joint responsibility of the private sector. Workshop organised with the collaboration of BSplash.