The Insular Council of Formentera presented this afternoon the conclusions of the Save Posidònia Project, which were already advanced in the last edition of the ITB tourist fair in Berlin by the doctor of the University of the Balearic Islands, Nona SR Agawin.

As part of the Save the Posidonia project of the Insular Council of Formentera to promote sustainable tourism, and specifically for the conservation of Posidonia, Doctor Agawin, principal researcher of the Marine Ecology and Systematics (MARS) research group of the University of the Balearic Islands has given an overview of the accumulation and distribution of various components of sunscreens in the posidonia meadows (environment and plant tissues) in different locations in Formentera subject to a gradient of tourist pressure and how these components can affect the health of these plants.

The study has detected that sunscreen filters may be damaging the oceanic posidonia as the chemicals adhere to the leaves, and affect their photosynthetic activity.

Bathers enter the water with these creams and the ultraviolet filters from sunscreens (oxybenzone, avobenzone 4-methyl, methylparaben) stick to the plants, as happens with corals.

This type of information is important to be able to properly manage this coastal resource in relation to the components of sunscreens. In fact, in other areas of the planet, sunscreens have been banned due to the negative impact they have on coral reefs.

It should be remembered that the posidonia is an endemic plant of the Mediterranean Sea, very ancient and of high ecological value that produces oxygen and absorbs CO₂, which increases the transparency of the water so characteristic of our coasts and which is precisely what attracts millions of tourists to the islands.

Also, the dead posidonia that washes up on the beaches and dries protects the coast from erosion.