The famous walk in 2009 to reclaim the cami Ternelles in Pollensa. | Teresa Ayuga

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The Council of Majorca proposal for a law on public walks has outraged the association of owners of rural fincas. Its president, Fernando Fortuny, says that the regulations outlined last week by the Council's president, Miquel Ensenyat, are "the worst thing that could happen".

Fortuny describes the proposal as the latest "ecological attack" on vulnerable natural areas such as the Tramuntana mountains. He believes that it will lead to Unesco removing the Tramuntana's World Heritage status; "a genuine disaster".

The Council envisages an opening of rural ways and an easing of current restrictions. This, Fortuny argues, will lead to the deterioration and erosion of the environment. It wouldn't be caused so much by hikers but by the growing numbers of cyclists on mountain bikes. "If we let everyone in, then the same will happen in the Tramuntana as has occurred in the Bellver forest in Palma. So many people go there that the flora doesn't recover."

The proposal will go to the Balearic parliament for approval. While it was set out last Friday, after months of negotiations, the association didn't have official proof of it until Monday. This in itself was a "debacle". Fortuny concludes: "If you want to make something deteriorate, then make it public."