Safety nets, vandalism and UFOs

A culture of peace, solidarity and anti-racism promoted through exchange has been the purpose of a sea voyage made by a 'green boat' seen in Maltese waters last month.

Goletta Verdi, a schooner adapted to fulfil an ecological mission, was here on a brief visit to compare notes and share experiences with environment groups, with the help of the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Embassy.

The awareness-raising tour covered 11 countries, including Algeria where environment groups showed a real thirst and enthusiasm for information and contact with other non-governmental organisations.

Legambiente, Italy's largest environmental organisation, forms part of Mediterranean civil society grouped under the Euro-Med environmental network, with organisations in other countries, such as the Malta-based Nature Trust.

Strong support for protected areas is called for by Federparchi, a federation for Mediterranean parks launched last year. Most of the 23 protected sites listed by Malta lack proper management.

By designating protected sites Malta is eligible for Natura 2000 funding from the Council of Europe and a UK bilateral assistance programme. With good management in place, some of these funds could be available to farmers and users of land, in particular in relation to agriculture and rural development.

One recommendation to come out of a recent MEPA workshop is to promote organic farming as a way to help nature conservation in a number of specially protected areas. This would prevent the loss of landscapes that have been shaped by agriculture while achieving nature conservation.

While organic farming has been found to be beneficial, at a Natura 2000 site on coastal cliffs near Siggiewi caution is advised where this might lead to loss or isolation of the mosaic of natural habitats, which makes up our biodiversity.

Ta' Cenc backstage

In a report on the status of Natura 2000 in Malta, drawn up by the WWF, the worldwide conservation organisation, it was found that Government has undertaken few, if any, communications or awareness-raising activities on Natura 2000.

So far any existing awareness campaigns appear to have been audience selective, since the public has hardly been informed at all on these projects and their status.

The portal for European parks www.parks.it.europa lists Ta' Cenc, the breeding ground of the marine bird Cory's Shearwater, as an "oasis for birdlife". Nature Trust was disappointed when the site was removed from a list of potential candidates put forward by the NGO for the Natura 2000 network, Europe's safety net for nature.

An initial reluctance by the Maltese government to involve non-governmental organisations in the site selection process was followed by disappointment when a number of sites proposed by Nature Trust were struck off the list submitted by Government to the EU. The cliff face at Ta' Cenc, a fraction of the original area proposed as a Natura 2000 site by Nature Trust, has since been scheduled by Government, but the rich biodiversity of the overlying garigue has been left out of the protected area. The protected cliffs are still awaiting inclusion in the Natura 2000 network.

Nature Trust was obliged to file a report with WWF when the Maltese government left out some of the most important nature sites in the Maltese Islands last year.

A key problem identified by Nature Trust in the report on protection of nature sites was that law enforcement on the islands is "very weak". The environment group called for better consultation, more human resources and greater political will to breathe life into Natura 2000 sites in Malta and Gozo

The Ta' Cenc case is due to be reviewed again soon. Nature Trust has been discussing its absence from the nature network with WWF, which will now take the matter up with the European Commission.

Apart from the omission of Ta' Cenc from the Natura 2000 list, three ecologically rich garigue areas at Qortin il-Kbir, Tal-Magun and ta' Isopu were also put forward as deserving of Level 1 protection status.

Although the sites hold some very rare plant species, the Maltese government failed to include them in a list sent to Brussels. The nature-rich sites are held on a shadow list by WWF, which is continually monitoring commitment to nature protection by governments.

Some MEPA staff are now approaching the end of an extended training programme designed to assist new member states to implement nature directives while administering protected sites.

Some trainees are currently abroad to brush up on management of protected sites, including marine areas, as well as monitoring of habitats and species.

Air Malta cliffhanger

How to assess the impact of plans and projects on the sites as required by the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) directive is also being addressed in the course.

Tourism activities such as rock-climbing, which depend on special attributes of the landscape, must be carefully considered for their impact.

It has been noted that Air Malta is promoting climbing holidays in its in-flight magazine, which declares that "many unclimbed routes are waiting to be developed". A magazine article titled 'Cliffhangers' describes "quick easy access to remote cliffs".

As a European member state we are bound to consider any potential ecological damage arising from sports activities before taking the plunge. Natura 2000 obligations require consideration of the Habitats and Birds Directives in any planning process concerning tourism and leisure.

Great progress has been made in European nature protection through Natura 2000 but important gaps remain. An EU report found that lack of information and explanation at national and local levels in member states on the implications of Natura 2000 have provoked opposition which in turn caused blockages and delays at European level.

The report also found that governments have largely underestimated the scientific work required to gather the necessary data to propose a coherent list of sites for all the habitats and species listed in the directive. It is no longer up to governments to daisy pick some sites and discard others. If the habitats and wildlife are there then they must be protected.

It appears that public involvement was rather limited during the site designation process in Malta, mainly because the public was not encouraged to participate. In some member states it has been found that where the land users were not so well involved when sites were chosen, the level of conflict often escalated during the site management.

Recommendations which came out of a MEPA land use seminar held in April identified lack of discussion and co-ordination of works within protected areas between different competent authorities and regulatory bodies.

It was also noted that a number of Natura 2000 sites are still not managed and discussions were needed to address conflicting land users. The only sites where proper management plans have been developed and applied are the ones where environment organisations were involved in managing the sites.

In an internal MEPA workshop, staff were encouraged to develop a strategy to combat unawareness by land users of legal obligations in respect of Natura 2000 sites. It was recommended that regular discussions between competent authorities could be helpful to identify specific areas, which might be eligible for funding as managed sites.

These sites can include considerable areas of agricultural land which could then qualify for EU funds under the Natura 2000 programme.

Another finding that came out of the workshop was that tourism-related activities could be developed to sustain organic farming. Helping to removal alien species, for example, could provide an activity that would allow the tourist to contribute some environmental benefit and improve biodiversity.

Preserving urban greenery

Ripping trees and flowers out of the open space in front of the Prime Minster's office is being viewed as just another act of environmental vandalism following the plumping out of the building boundaries.

Replacing urban greenery at Castille with a stark paved area devoid of shade has been the latest proposal to meet public contempt. This verdant corner of the capital city is an oasis in a World Heritage Site besieged by a general shabbiness and a visual sense of abandon.

This dogged drive to transform an oasis of trees and flowers into a desert laid waste, surrendered to concrete, has been met by strong objections from a public who are losing their patience with the relentless bulldozing attitude of this government.

Lighting outdoor areas with lights sunk into the ground, which shine upward only, adds to light pollution. Such a treatment of an outdoor space in our capital is more the sort of thing one would expect to find in a shopping mall than in a prestigious city square.

UFOs at Salina

Bright lights hover over a grove of trees near Kennedy Grove. They are not UFOs coming to inspect the HSBC-sponsored afforestation project. They are not swamp gas fireballs from the Salina wetland either.

Residents have written in to complain of the stark lighting, which has disturbed the tranquil evening scenery. Four lights and fencing have been installed as a security measure "to help security spot any movements and prevent people from stealing or vandalising the trees".

Plans and projects dealing with light in the night-time environment should consider the health aspects of light pollution. In a recent study it was confirmed that excess light at night-time prevents the proper functioning of the immune system and has been identified as a factor contributing to breast cancer.

It is not so widely known that the long-term ill effects of light pollution can have a serious potential impact on the quality of life.