Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · Spain · 2018–2026

Posidonia oceanica meadows (Balearics, Mediterranean)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 7 insufficient · 1 not measured · 8 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How much has Posidonia declined?
  • Researchers Telesca et al. (2015): 34% regression over the last 50 years, attributed to the cumulative effects of multiple local stressors. Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
  • Researchers Boudouresque et al. (2021): The decline could be less extensive and less general than claimed. Water (via GIS Posidonie)
  • Researchers Provence and Côte d'Azur data, 0–15 m depth: Since 1922, 86% of meadow unchanged, 13% regressed, 1% progressed.
How large is the meadow area?
How old is the Formentera Posidonia clone?
  • Researchers Arnaud-Haond et al. (2012): Clones are hundreds to thousands of years old; a Formentera clone shared by sites 15 km apart implies a minimum age of 80,000–200,000 years if spread was by clonal growth alone at 4–6 cm a year, a scenario the authors call unlikely. PLoS ONE
  • Researchers CSIC and University of Western Australia press releases: Framed the finding as a clone about 100,000 years old and the oldest living organism.
Is seagrass restoration working?
  • Company or project Red Eléctrica: 2 ha replanted in the Bay of Pollença for about €500,000; survival above 90% (company evaluation). Red Eléctrica
  • Researchers Boudouresque et al. (2021): None of the seagrass restoration programmes in Europe in the 2000s was successful; the largest Posidonia replantings listed were 500 m² and 1,020 m², while natural recolonisation near Marseille ran at 1,250 m² a year. Water (via GIS Posidonie)

Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass found only in the Mediterranean, has been reported to have declined by 34% in 50 years, a figure other researchers dispute. The Balearic Islands banned anchoring over meadows in 2018; boats were still being detected over them in 2025, and carbon-credit and restoration schemes have produced claims that the record does not yet confirm.

4,813: 18Boats detected anchored over Posidonia vs formal reports, Ibiza and Formentera, 2025
About 1 in 270 (0.37%) as reported by Ibiza & Formentera Preservation. In 2018 the Balearic government reported 42 formal reports for 5,269 boats detected over Posidonia.

Status As of October 2026: the Balearic anchoring ban has been in force since 2018; the French first-instance fine on the yacht Laurie I is appealable; no sale of Posidonia carbon credits was found.

What?
Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Mediterranean are reported to have declined, are protected by an EU priority-habitat listing and Balearic and French anchoring rules, and are the subject of carbon-credit, sponsorship and restoration schemes. Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
Where?
Mediterranean; the case centres on the Balearic Islands, with comparisons from Corsica, Provence, Sardinia and Andalusia. eldiario.es
When?
Balearic Decree 25/2018 approved 27 July 2018; enforcement figures for 2018 and 2025. eldiario.es
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Posidonia oceanica meadows — 34% regression over the last 50 years reported by Telesca et al. 2015, a figure disputed by Boudouresque et al. 2021; causes named include trawling, coastal development, sewage and pollution, anchoring, fish farms and invasive species. Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
Why?
None on record
How?
The Balearic decree bans trawling, aggregate extraction, dumping of dredged material, uncontrolled anchoring and removal of dead Posidonia on natural beaches, with fines of €100 to €2 million. eldiario.es
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: why

What happened

The record, in order.

Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass found only in the Mediterranean, from a few dozen centimetres to 30–40 m deep. Telesca et al. (2015) gave a known area of 1,224,707 ha (about 12,250 km²), with data missing for 21,471 km of coastline; older estimates are larger. The same study reported a 34% regression over the last 50 years, attributed to the cumulative effects of multiple local stressors. Boudouresque et al. (2021) said the decline could be less extensive and less general than claimed. In Provence and the Côte d'Azur, at 0–15 m depth, 86% of the meadow was unchanged since 1922, 13% had regressed and 1% had progressed.

Under the EU Habitats Directive, Posidonia beds are a priority habitat. The Balearic Islands approved Decree 25/2018 on 27 July 2018, banning trawling, aggregate extraction, dumping of dredged material and uncontrolled anchoring over meadows, and banning removal of dead Posidonia on natural beaches except for traditional manual uses. Fines range from €100 to €2 million; officials said the top fines were meant for oil-spill-scale damage. In 2018 the Balearic government carried out 50,467 actions and 30,326 anchoring checks, detected 5,269 boats over Posidonia and drew up 42 formal reports. In 2025 in Ibiza and Formentera alone, 4,813 boats were detected over Posidonia and 18 formal reports were drawn up (15 in Ibiza, 3 in Formentera).

In France, a Marseille maritime court imposed a €90,000 fine and a three-year ban from French waters on the 37 m Maltese-flagged yacht Laurie I, which anchored over meadow in the Cap Corse–Agriate marine park in July 2025; the ruling was at first instance and can be appealed. In that park, superyacht anchoring on Posidonia fell from 35% in 2019 to 6% in 2025; for boats under 24 m the 2025 figure was 15%.

Money and the meadows: machines removed 39,343 m³ (27,583.5 t) of sand together with dead leaves from 19 Balearic beaches in 2010–2018 (Roig-Munar et al. 2019). In France, a Label Bas-Carbone method for Posidonia protection (Prométhée-Med) was approved in 2023, with a claimed potential of 700,000 t over 30 years on 80,000 ha; no labelled project, volume or price was found. The Andalusian blue-carbon standard (January 2022) and Italy's LIFE SeaForest project (estimating over 5,365 tCO₂ avoided over 10 years) also published no prices or buyers. Formentera's Save Posidonia project, launched in 2017, sells sponsorship from €1 per m² and reported over 250,000 m² sponsored by September 2021. Studies value the meadows at about €280 to €1.7 million per hectare per year, depending on method.

Restoration: Red Eléctrica planted 2 ha in the Bay of Pollença, Mallorca (2018–2020), with 12,800 fragments, for about €500,000, and reported survival above 90% in its own evaluation. Boudouresque et al. (2021) listed the largest replantings as 500 m² (Monaco) and 1,020 m² (Piombino), noted that a WWII bomb crater near Marseille was recolonised naturally at 1,250 m² a year, and quoted the finding that none of the seagrass restoration programmes developed in Europe in the 2000s was successful.

  1. 1922Baseline year for the Provence and Côte d'Azur comparison (86% of meadow unchanged since)
  2. 2017Formentera launches Save Posidonia sponsorship
  3. 2018Balearic Decree 25/2018 approved (27 July); 5,269 boats detected over meadow, 42 formal reports; Red Eléctrica planting begins
  4. 2019Superyacht anchoring on Posidonia in the Cap Corse–Agriate park: 35%
  5. 2020Red Eléctrica reports planting survival above 90% (November)
  6. 2021Boudouresque et al. review of replantings; Save Posidonia reports over 250,000 m² sponsored (September)
  7. 2022Andalusian blue-carbon standard launched (January)
  8. 2023French Label Bas-Carbone method for Posidonia approved (April)
  9. 2025Yacht Laurie I anchors over meadow (July); 4,813 boats detected over meadow in Ibiza and Formentera; superyacht anchoring share 6%
  10. 2026Marseille maritime court fine reported (August), appealable

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“cumulative effects of multiple local stressors”

“could be less extensive and less general than claimed”

“hundreds to thousands of years old”

Arnaud-Haond et al., abstract, on Posidonia clones · 2012 · PLoS ONE

“unlikely”

Arnaud-Haond et al., on a Formentera clone age of 80,000–200,000 years based on clonal growth alone · 2012 · PLoS ONE

“None of the seagrass restoration programs developed in Europe during the 2000s was successful”

“created a carbon market”

LIFE SeaForest project, on its own work · 2025 · ISPRA

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

How much has Posidonia declined?
Researchers
Telesca et al. (2015)

34% regression over the last 50 years, attributed to the cumulative effects of multiple local stressors.

Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
Researchers
Boudouresque et al. (2021)

The decline could be less extensive and less general than claimed.

Water (via GIS Posidonie)
Researchers
Provence and Côte d'Azur data, 0–15 m depth

Since 1922, 86% of meadow unchanged, 13% regressed, 1% progressed.

How large is the meadow area?
Researchers
Telesca et al. (2015)

Known area 1,224,707 ha (about 12,250 km²); data missing for 21,471 km of coastline.

Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
Researchers
Campagne et al. (2015)

Uses 3.5 million ha, citing Laffoley and Grimsditch (2009).

Marine Pollution Bulletin (via medtrix.fr)
Press and investigations
Spanish press (2018)

Cited about 50,000 km².

eldiario.es
How old is the Formentera Posidonia clone?
Researchers
Arnaud-Haond et al. (2012)

Clones are hundreds to thousands of years old; a Formentera clone shared by sites 15 km apart implies a minimum age of 80,000–200,000 years if spread was by clonal growth alone at 4–6 cm a year, a scenario the authors call unlikely.

PLoS ONE
Researchers
CSIC and University of Western Australia press releases

Framed the finding as a clone about 100,000 years old and the oldest living organism.

Is seagrass restoration working?
Company or project
Red Eléctrica

2 ha replanted in the Bay of Pollença for about €500,000; survival above 90% (company evaluation).

Red Eléctrica
Researchers
Boudouresque et al. (2021)

None of the seagrass restoration programmes in Europe in the 2000s was successful; the largest Posidonia replantings listed were 500 m² and 1,020 m², while natural recolonisation near Marseille ran at 1,250 m² a year.

Water (via GIS Posidonie)
How often is anchoring over meadows followed by a formal report?
Government and regulators
Balearic government (2018)

5,269 boats detected over Posidonia; 42 formal reports.

Nou Diàri (Ibiza)
Communities and civil society
Ibiza & Formentera Preservation (2025)

4,813 boats detected over Posidonia in Ibiza and Formentera; 18 formal reports (15 in Ibiza, 3 in Formentera), about 1 in 270.

Mallorca Magazin
What is a hectare of Posidonia worth each year?
Researchers
Campagne et al. (2015), France

€283–513 per hectare per year (€25.3–45.9 million a year in total); only 7 of 25 identified services valued; dead-leaf banquettes valued at €0.

Marine Pollution Bulletin (via medtrix.fr)
Researchers
Vassallo (2013), cited by Campagne et al.

€172 per m² per year, or €1.72 million per hectare, by an emergy method at Bergeggi.

Marine Pollution Bulletin (via medtrix.fr)
Researchers
UIB / A. Riera (2019), Balearics

€21.2 million a year for 65,000 ha; coastal protection €12.4 million (€191.7 per hectare).

Última Hora

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • A Posidonia clone about 100,000 years old, the “oldest living organism”.
    CSIC and University of Western Australia press releases
  • Planted Posidonia with survival above 90%.
    Red Eléctrica · Red Eléctrica
  • Over 250,000 m² of meadow “sponsored”.
    Consell de Formentera, Save Posidonia project · Spain.info social newsroom
  • A carbon-credit method for Posidonia protection with a potential of 700,000 t over 30 years.
    EcoAct (Atos/Eviden), Digital Realty (Interxion), Schneider Electric and the Calanques National Park · Atos

Recorded

  • Telesca et al.: 34% regression of Posidonia over the last 50 years; Boudouresque et al.: the decline could be less extensive than claimed.
    Scientific Reports (via Ifremer Archimer)
  • Balearics 2018: 5,269 boats detected over Posidonia, 42 formal reports.
    Nou Diàri (Ibiza)
  • Ibiza and Formentera 2025: 4,813 boats detected over Posidonia, 18 formal reports.
    Mallorca Magazin
  • Cap Corse–Agriate marine park: superyacht anchoring on Posidonia fell from 35% (2019) to 6% (2025).
    SuperYacht24
  • Machine removal of dead Posidonia took 27,583.5 t of sand from 19 Balearic beaches in 2010–2018.
    Universitat de les Illes Balears research portal
  • Sardinia regional funding for 2020–22 was €1.8 million, paying only for temporary relocation of banquettes, not landfill; at least half of the 72 coastal municipalities remove banquettes, tens of thousands of m³ per season.
    L'Unione Sarda
  • Italy's ISPRA: banquettes hold about 93 kg of sediment per m³; removal on one Sardinian site would lose over 1,700 m³ of sediment.
    ISPRA
  • Campagne et al. valued only 7 of 25 identified services and gave dead-leaf banquettes a value of €0.
    Marine Pollution Bulletin (via medtrix.fr)

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: EUR · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • balearic-government (July 2018): Officials said the top fines under Decree 25/2018 (up to €2 million) are meant for oil-spill-scale damage. · eldiario.es
  • red-electrica (November 2020): Reported survival of planted Posidonia above 90% in its Marine Forest project in the Bay of Pollença (company evaluation, with IMEDEA as partner). · Red Eléctrica
  • consell-de-formentera (September 2021): Reported over 250,000 m² of meadow sponsored through Save Posidonia. · Spain.info social newsroom
  • ecoact (April 2023): With Digital Realty, Schneider Electric and the Calanques National Park, announced approval of a Posidonia protection method with a claimed potential of about 24,000 tCO₂e a year. · Atos

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. Claimant won€90bn Fine
    Yacht Laurie I anchoring over Posidonia, Cap Corse–Agriate marine park
    Marseille maritime court (first instance) · Regulatory · → Yacht Laurie I (37 m, Maltese flag)

    The yacht anchored over Posidonia in July 2025. The court imposed a €90,000 fine and a three-year ban from French waters; the ruling is at first instance and can be appealed. Reported in August 2026. SuperYacht24

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Regression over 50 years
34%
Telesca et al. 2015; disputed by Boudouresque et al. 2021 (86% unchanged in Provence and Côte d'Azur since 1922)
Boats over meadow vs formal reports
4,813: 18
Ibiza and Formentera, 2025
Superyacht anchoring on meadow, Cap Corse–Agriate
35% to 6%
2019 to 2025
Largest documented replantings
500 m² and 1,020 m²
Boudouresque et al. 2021, against 1,250 m² a year of natural recolonisation near Marseille

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Court ruling exists

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
  • Disputed How much has Posidonia declined?
  • Disputed How large is the meadow area?
  • Disputed How old is the Formentera Posidonia clone?
  • Disputed Is seagrass restoration working?

Accounts

  • Disputed How often is anchoring over meadows followed by a formal report?
  • Disputed What is a hectare of Posidonia worth each year?

Record

  • None on record The meadow's total area is not settled: the known area is about 12,250 km² with coastline data missing; Campagne 2015 uses 3.5 million ha and Spanish press in 2018 cited about 50,000 km².
  • Disputed The extent of the decline is disputed (34% in 50 years against a review saying it could be less extensive and less general).
  • Disputed The age of Formentera clones is disputed: 80,000–200,000 years assumes spread by clonal growth alone, which the authors call unlikely.
  • None on record No labelled project, volume or price was found for the French Posidonia carbon method, and no prices or buyers were published for the Andalusian standard or LIFE SeaForest.
  • None on record The official Save Posidonia site showed a live counter reading 0 and no total raised at the time of research.
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified in the primary text: IUCN lists the species as Least Concern with a decreasing trend (assessed 15 July 2013), and the European Red List of Habitats rates Posidonia beds Vulnerable.
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified in the primary text: 529 Natura 2000 sites are designated for Posidonia beds.
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified (page would not load): Balearic government 2025 figures of 181,468 actions, 156,043 anchoring checks, 10,062 boats relocated, 6.4% of anchorings on Posidonia and 48 formal reports.
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Sardinia in 2004 removed leaves from 44 of 116 beaches (106,180 m³), with 80% dumped in unauthorised areas.
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Posidonia restoration costs of €100,000–500,000 per hectare (2021 analysis cited in a 2025 paper) and a median seagrass survival of 38% across restoration projects (Bayraktarov et al.).
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified: an Italian national benefit-transfer estimate of €21,660 per hectare per year (conference presentation, not peer-reviewed).
  • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Andalusian standard still lacked national approval in April 2025 (Carbon Pulse).

Did the harm stop?

Anchoring over meadows continued after the 2018 Balearic ban: 4,813 boats were detected over Posidonia in Ibiza and Formentera in 2025. In the Cap Corse–Agriate park, the superyacht share fell from 35% (2019) to 6% (2025).

Who paid?

Sources

Voices on record: ✓ Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

Company or project

Government and regulators

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

Researchers

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Carbon and conservation finance

Baseline
The projected scenario of what would have happened without a project, such as an expected rate of deforestation. Credits are issued for the difference between the baseline and what actually happened, so an inflated baseline produces more credits.
Carbon credit
A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.

Institutions

IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and its global list assessing species' risk of extinction.
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