Posidonia oceanica is not a seaweed but a flowering plant endemic to the Mediterranean. The accumulations of dry leaves that appear on the shore are not waste but a health indicator: their presence means the underwater meadow is alive. On some urban beaches such as Figueretas or En Bossa, the Posidonia is removed at the start of the season to make bathing easier and returned to the shore at the end, as it acts as a natural barrier protecting the sand from winter erosion. On beaches such as Es Cavallet, Posidonia remains in the water throughout the season. It is not dirt or a sign of neglect: it is nature. Some bathers may find it difficult to enter the water through it, but its presence is precisely the guarantee that the seabed is healthy.

Marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer Manu San Félix has spent over thirty years documenting the state of these meadows in the Pityuses. Arrived in the islands in 1992, he developed, together with the Ibiza Preservation Foundation, the Posidonia MAPS application, which allows boat skippers to locate safe anchoring areas in real time without damaging the underwater meadows. The foundation is the reference organisation for those who want to understand or support the conservation of the Ibizan marine ecosystem.

The Alianza por el Agua is the reference organisation for sustainable water management in the Pityuses. It works on environmental education, tourist awareness through its annual campaign Enjoy the Island, Save Water, and on governance through the Pacto Insular del Agua. The drought of recent years has placed particular pressure on the agricultural sector, highlighting the real fragility of Ibiza’s water system.

Traditional payesa farmhouses were built with cisterns and wells for collecting and storing water, a centuries-old system that remains functional in many of the island’s inland properties. Several villas in the Neverland portfolio retain their original cisterns. Some also have solar panels, rainwater recovery systems for irrigation and parking with electric vehicle charging points. In a luxury villa, pool use, garden irrigation and domestic consumption represent a significant volume for an island with scarce water resources. A few simple gestures make a real difference: limiting laundry to what is necessary and avoiding waste outdoors.

Can Zol, on the road to San Lorenzo, has planted over eight thousand trees and cultivates grape varieties never before grown on the island. Can Puvil, in Sant Josep, was founded by Marina Cardona on abandoned family land and has organic wild asparagus as its star product, one of the few crops of this variety in the Balearics. Juntos Farm, with its farm in Santa Gertrudis and its restaurant in San Mateu, is a twenty-hectare regenerative farm that combines its own production, a seasonal restaurant and a local produce shop, and collaborates with sixteen farms across the Balearics. Ecofeixes is the cooperative that brings together the island’s certified organic farmers and distributes their products in local shops and through weekly home delivery boxes. The Sabores de Ibiza seal, promoted by the island’s Tourism Promotion Foundation, identifies restaurants committed to local and seasonal produce as the basis of their cooking.

Some villas keep this tradition alive within the property itself. La Finca has its own kitchen garden that in season produces vegetables and aromatic herbs for the villa’s kitchen. Can Sabina retains its fruit trees, a familiar presence in the landscape of traditional inland fincas.

Waste collection follows a rigorous daily schedule and fines for non-compliance are significant. At Ibiza airport, in the baggage reclaim area, a short awareness video is shown to visitors from the moment they land. The Balearic tourist tax finances conservation and restoration projects across the islands. At the regular meetings of AVAT, the association of holiday rental properties in the Balearics, environmental awareness is part of the sector’s agenda.

The Ses Salines natural park, shared between Ibiza and Formentera, protects one of the most important wetlands in the western Mediterranean. Its historic salt pans, dunes and Posidonia seabeds are home to over two hundred catalogued bird species. The Balearic government does not grant tourist rental licences within its perimeter, making Ses Salines one of the few areas on the island where tourist residential use is effectively prohibited.