Aniol Esteban, director of the Marilles Foundation, puts his heart and soul into working to preserve the Balearic Sea. He works with researchers, fishers and policymakers to find solutions that will restore the sea and protect it in the long term. He explains how Adessium has been involved since the beginning.

Waters in top condition

Director Aniol Esteban: “Marilles Foundation brings parties together to join forces and work on getting the waters around the Balearics into top condition and keeping them that way. In the first place, we do this through our own projects, such as our annual survey of the state of the Balearics. Our reports are widely used, including by civil servants, researchers and journalists. It helps us to raise awareness of the problems in the waters.”

Working together with fishers

“In the second place, we provide financial support to parties active in the Balearics. Such as Shark Med, who are working to ensure the preservation of sharks in the area. Their research into the shark population shows that at least half the sharks are swimming around with fishing lines or fishhooks in their mouths or nets around their bodies. This was all over the newspapers.”

“With our research partner OBSAM we are working to restore shallow bays on Menorca, which in many places have changed from green oases into muddy pools. On Ibiza and Formentera we work together with fishers who are trying to expand protected sea areas and reduce the impact of their fishing techniques. They are leading the way in these areas.”

Critical partner

“In 2017, Adessium founded Marilles Foundation, after research showed possibilities for supporting the area together with local parties. Adessium made a large donation and it still does. The first year, 100 percent of our budget came from Adessium. That’s now 25 percent. Not because Adessium is donating less – that amount has remained the same all those years – but because we’ve found more donors. So Adessium’s investment has delivered four times as much funding for the vulnerable waters surrounding the Balearics.”

“The involvement of Adessium, a well-known and well-respected foundation, helped us to find other donors. I consider Adessium a valued and critical partner. They have a lot of experience when it comes to improving organizations. When something isn’t going well, they don’t hesitate to tell us we could be doing things differently and better.”

Photo: Nuria Bufort Costa