Once again, I recall my favourite campfire song of my days of youth. Like My Darling Clementine, the Maltese and Gozitan countryside is being systematically eroded and will soon be "gone and lost for ever".
Our euphoric feelings last May over the laudable Government declaration of converting ix-Xaghra l-Hamra (Manikata) into a National Park, heralded "our spring of hope". This was only to be rudely followed once again by a "summer of despair" as we witness an unscrupulous onslaught on the idyllic Gozo countryside and archaeological heritage, as brutal as the barbaric siege of 1551, threatening Ramla l-Hamra, Ta' Cenc, Hondoq ir-Rummien, Ras il-Wardija, Mgarr ix-Xini, and the Gozo prehistoric Stone Circle in Xaghhra, also known as the Brocktorff Circle. These are places we must save for future generations. Is nothing sacred any more?
The environmental NGOs, exhausted but not deterred, are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the incessant resurfacing of environmental issues, which, like a dormant volcano, erupt in all their fury from time to time. This gives credence to our beliefs that in environmental matters our victories are temporary; only our losses are permanent.
Such was the green NGOs' bitter feeling, as in the heat of noon they recently stepped into the breach once more in defence of Ta' Cenc. Unfortunately, MEPA is increasingly being rendered ineffective, being at the mercy of legal eagles who soar to vertiginous heights in their attempt to find loopholes in MEPA's voluminous framework interpreting the letter as is their wont, rather than the spirit of the law in favour of the developers.
Very often MEPA officials encounter professionals, who, like aggressive salesmen, are convincing enough and capable of selling a fridge to an Eskimo. In my view, from the role of predator swooping on wrongdoers, MEPA has itself become a prey, an endangered species.
The Ramla l-Hamra issue
Ramla l-Hamra in Gozo, apart from its breathtaking natural beauty, is an acknowledged cornucopia of outstanding historical, archaeological, aesthetic and military sites, not least the connection with The Odyssey of Homer, the father of European literature.
Professor Anthony Bonanno of the University of Malta has confirmed that Gozo's connection with the nymph Calypso goes back to 300 BC. Ramla Bay Valley encapsulates our island's unique historical and architectural heritage, stretching from the pre-historic temples of Ggantija, to the mysterious Bronze Age village of Nuffara, down to the small Roman olive-oil producing country houses on the Nadur slopes; the area on the Xaghra side, reputedly the location of the first monastic order that in the fifth century settled on the site still known today as Ta' Gajdoru, on to the rich vineyards initiated by the Knights down to the vast Roman Villa buried under the red sands of Ramla l-Hamra below Calypso's Cave.
One can also mention the string of fortifications like the submerged wall, the redoubts and fougasse. Undoubtedly, the jewel in the crown of this treasure trove is the locality itself, associated with Homer's greatest hero, Ulysses.
Apart from these considerations, Ramla l-Hamra is an area supposedly protected for landscape value, as clearly defined by MEPA in its publication State of the Environment indicators 2006, published this year. In this regard, MEPA's official view on areas of landscape value is defined as follows:
"The Maltese landscape has an attractive and distinctive character, and it is important to maintain it through positive protective measures. To this end, Areas of High Landscape Value (AHLV) have been designated under the provision of the Development Planning Act (DPA)."
Quite rightly, MEPA identifies Ramla l-Hamra as an AHLV in its report, stating that such sites should be given full protection. Furthermore, in 1997, the Environment Protection Department highlighted the uniqueness of the flora and fauna in Ramla l-Hamra with a very impressive coloured brochure. Sadly, these considerations have been given scant attention as the relevant authorities felt that no environmental impact assessment was necessary on this exceptionally sensitive area.
MEPA's commendable publication on Environment Indicators also deals with bio-diversity (page 53) in which Ramla l-Hamra (Gozo), Rdum Majjesa and Ras ir-Raheb (Malta) have been designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). It is therefore inconceivable how the Ulysses Lodge Development has been given MEPA's approval.
The spirit of the law with regard to "positive protective measures" was manifestly lacking... And possibly the letter of the law, definitely flawed, was invoked. It is for this reason that in the perception of the general public MEPA appears heavily tilted in favour of the developer, although I have no doubt that, like us, MEPA desires a level playing field for all.
Redemption of our fair land
The obviously insensitive blunders of the Seventies, which today, 35 years later, acquire a different resonance, should be immediately obliterated with an expropriation order with justified compensation, which the law rightly allows today. Failing this, similar sites obviously incompatible with their environment will, like the Phoenix, rise from the ashes to plague our fair land forever.
The Maltese are proud of their countryside and will fight till the end to protect it. If they are called on to dig deep into their pockets for the redemption of their fair land, as they rallied round their leaders in 1427 and raised 30,000 florins to retrieve their native soil from the tyrant Monroy, they will heed the call.
The Ulysses' Lodge development overlooks a valley, which is a cornucopia of exceptional archaeological remains, undoubtedly the richest in the Maltese archipelago. The development should not be viewed in isolation, divorced completely from its surroundings.
Even if we consider the sites in close proximity alone, namely the expansive Roman Villa at the foot of Xaghra slope, and Calypso's Cave associated with Classical Literature, the area should be declared a hallowed site. Apparently, we want to cash in on Homer's Odyssey as a tourist attraction and in the same breath ignore it to accommodate the developers.
A recent illustrated publication by the Malta Tourism Authority on Walks in Gozo describes the Ramla l-Hamra walk where "you will explore several of Gozo's natural, geological, historical and traditional features. However, particularly distinctive of this walk are the relaxing sounds of one of the most fertile valleys on the island."
Perhaps the projected cemetery on the Nadur side of this valley will not impinge on the relaxing sounds but it will surely impair the fertility of this valley. On the Roman Villa, which apparently the archaeologists' report totally ignored, the MTA booklet states:
"Sir Temi Zammit showed up at Ramla l-Hamra the following morning. The excavations revealed a Roman Villa complete with baths. The villa had 19 rooms, some of which were decorated with mosaic and marble; the villa was also found to be fitted with a heating and drainage system. The artefacts that were found are now preserved at the National Museum in Valletta. Following excavations and proper recording, the remains of this villa have once again been buried under the sand for the sake of protection." Need I say more?
Recent events have shown that the Maltese still hold a sense of rural belonging that is an essential part of their consciousness. They crave for the spirituality emanating from the wilderness landscape of Il-Qlejgha tal-Bahrija and remote Ras il-Wardija in Gozo, the benignly barren and archaeologically rich Ta' Cenc, and the idyllic beauty of Bahrija, Mtahleb, Gnejna and Fomm ir-Rih, the beleaguered patrimony of an island nation where the countryside and coastal zones must be secure at any cost.
We have seen the passions that the threat to these places by land sharks can arouse. Smouldering embers are prone to erupt more furiously in the near future if the incensed populace is not appeased. This is no trivial matter, and once again my final plea emanates from our National Anthem "Aghti Mulej id-dehen... ("Grant, O Lord wisdom...") to all stakeholders to realise that the quality of life does not consist only of economic development but also of safeguarding our countryside and coastal zones enriched by historical, architectural and artistic treasures enjoyed by past generations of Maltese, which are currently threatened with extinction.