Nature Trusts concerned over Salina, Wied il-Kbir works

Nature Trust Malta, the environmental NGO, has expressed concern over the way flood relief works at the Salina watercourse and Wied il-Kbir are being carried out.

It said it was "furious" that works on the Salina watercourse "seemed" to be carried out without the necessary permits and "apparently" with any supervision or any regard to the sensitive and legally protected nature of the site.

It said it had noticed works being carried out even though the application for the permit was still being published on the newspapers.

"Salina is one of the last remaining local marshland habitats and deservedly is protected on paper by various regulations. These regulations endow it with status of a Special Area of Conservation: candidate site of international importance, as an area of ecological importance and as a site of scientific importance." Parts of the saltpan area are also scheduled for their architectural value.

The NGO said it had repeatedly reported the works to Mepa but no appropriate answers had been forthcoming. It said impact assessments needed to be made ahead of the works and Mepa officials should monitor works once a permit was issued.

"Due to the rarity of the habitat involved, Nature Trust will be informing the European Commission at the earliest on the matter since Mepa should have taken action in line with the EU Habitats Directive."

When it referred to the works at Wied il-Kbir, the NGO said that while it acknowledging that maintenance works were needed after the watercourse was blocked with debris and inert material carried down the valley during the winter rains, such works should be handled in full consideration of the ecology and sensitivity of the area.

"Ecological areas deserve the same scrutiny and attention that is applied to works on historical heritage sites since such habitats once lost are difficult to recover."

The NGO in this case too said it had asked Mepa for information on the conditions set for such works but to date it had not received confirmation that any such conditions were made.

It said the valley floor has been repeatedly degraded over the years because of countless similar interventions. It called for real rehabilitation works, including the removal of roads on the valley floor and the planting of suitable vegetation to reduce erosion.