Turn me to see me properly
Thank you!

Portixol Island, Jávea, Spain

The evolution of rural development in Spain

1900 2024
A comparative by: Santi Palacios

September 20, 2024

This comparison shows Portixol Island, located in the municipality of Jávea, in the north of the Spanish province of Alicante on the Mediterranean coast, in a photograph taken at the beginning of the 20th century (exact year unknown) and another taken in August 2024.

On the coast facing the island, we can observe the disappearance of farmland, replaced by forest mass. Most experts agree a major risk factor driving extreme wildfires is forest continuity. In terms of mega fire risk, uninterrupted and unmanaged forest areas are an enemy hidden in plain sight.

Portixol Island was declared a protected area in 2016 due to its archaeological, cultural, natural, and ethnographic importance. This means that authorizations are required for any activity on the island.

To learn more about forest continuity and its relationship with mega fires on the Iberian Peninsula, you can visit our report Fuelling a Mega Fire.

Credits

  • 1900: Jávea Municipal Archive
  • 2024: Santi Palacios for Sonda Internacional

Crowdfunding

We are an NGO

We can only offer you publications like this if we receive donations.

DONATE

Support visual journalism on the climate crisis

In-depth journalism is not economically profitable.

But it needs to exist.

Donate

Explore the climate crisis through our categories

Find out how each element impacts on our planet and how you can help

Water
Earth
Fire
Air
This website uses cookies
This website uses cookies to improve the user experience. By using our website, you agree to all cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.
Strictly necessary cookies
Strictly necessary cookies are those that allow the user to browse through a website, platform or application and to use the different options or services that exist therein.
Show cookies
Name Cookie Preferences
Domain /
Expiration 1 year
Description

Description of the cookie that stores user preferences.
Name PHPSESSID
Domain sondainternacional.com
Expiration Session
Description

Cookie generated by applications based on the PHP language. This is a general purpose identifier used to maintain user session variables.
Name wp-wpml_current_language
Domain sondainternacional.com
Expiration Session
Description

Stores the user’s current language.
Name __stripe_sid
Domain sondainternacional.com
Expiration Session
Description

Stripe technical cookie. Used during payment tracking for a purchase, subscription or donation.
Name __stripe_mid
Domain sondainternacional.com
Expiration Session
Description

Stripe technical cookie. Used during payment tracking for a purchase, subscription or donation.
Name mailchimp_landing_site
Domain /
Expiration 28 days
Description

Stores the first page visited.
Name Unique visits
Domain /
Expiration 2 years
Description

We use this cookie to understand user traffic to our website and user behaviour.
Performance cookies
Performance cookies are used to see how visitors use the website. For example: analytical cookies. These types of cookies cannot be used to directly identify a particular visitor.
Show cookies
Name _ga
Domain /
Expiration 2 years
Description

This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics, which is a significant upgrade to Google’s most widely used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a customer identifier. It is included in each page request on a site and is used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for site analytics reporting.
Accept all
Reject all
Show details