Anne Zammit
Fern of contention
Drivers assembling at Xlendi for a treasure hunt billed as 'off-road' over the May holiday weekend were advised by AWDC organisers to avoid taking shortcuts across fields.
Escaping to nature can mean different things to different people. Off-roaders and ramblers admit to sharing some common ground but may have conflicting views when the going gets tough.
Both seek free access to the wilder parts of Malta and Gozo with varying degrees of harm to the environment. Noisy trail bikes and jeep safaris are not popular with either camp. Both complain of being denied access to the countryside by farmers and RTO (Riservato) signs, reserving the area for hunters.
Off-roading is considered a sport, with competitions held in Malta and abroad, yet offers little in the way of exercise while allegedly tearing up the countryside. Vehicles stuck in wet, off-road conditions may indulge in the mud-spattering art of wheelspin, going nowhere fast as they burn diesel and release extra carbon into the atmosphere.
At times, off-roaders absolve themselves by making use of their vehicles to remove dumped fridges and other objects from the countryside. Some may even run their Land Rovers on biodiesel.
People attracted to off-roading are generally the outdoor type with a fondness for camping, barbecuing and possibly a fascination for anything vaguely military. After all, off-roading came to the islands in the form of training exercises by British forces.
Today's off-roaders seem more engrossed in engine performance with their natural surroundings little more than a backdrop to whining Land Rovers.
Rambling is regarded as more of a leisure activity although extended treks and steep cliff paths can be a rambler's outdoor gym. Citing the European Charter of Sport, they hope for more recognition within the sporting world. Although not competitive, this activity is challenging, requires endurance and skills, while health benefits are a tangible return.
Ploughing along rocky valley beds is not thought to be harmful by the All Wheel Drive Club (AWDC), which sees environmentalist views as extremist.
Every winter, a torrent of water rushes down Wied Qirda, rearranging the boulders from one year to the next. This presents a renewed challenge to the 4WD fanatics who fail to see why they should not venture into the valley to test their vehicles on fresh rocky terrain.
Ecologists argue that the shifting boulders are part of the valley's eco-system. Nature is well aware of it and her timing is precise. By the time the boulders settle down in new positions after the winter floods the first shoots are beginning to push through the gaps. Then along come the Land Rovers, leaving a trail of destruction.
Ask an off-roader and he will deny that the sport is a threat to the environment. Like the hunters, off-roaders feel it is their own hobby which is under threat rather than the environment. They insist that it is an unruly minority which discredits them.
Most of our rare and indigenous plants are found on garigue and in valleys. Some grow to a maximum height of just five centimetres, so they can be somewhat difficult to spot from behind the wheel of a Land Rover.
Fierce exchanges have taken place between members of the Ramblers Association and the AWDC over off-roading at Wied Incita.
The off-roaders claimed that they were only using a track in the valley which is listed on a map and having paid their road licence, insisted they had every right to use it.
An eyewitness account suggests that the vehicles veered off the track to drive over boulders in an area where the rare Sicilian squill grows.
These blue-flowering bulbous plants can only be found in Malta and southern Italy, where they are nearing extinction.
An even rarer fern, thought to have disappeared from the Maltese islands, has been recorded near this valley by the co-author of a book on Maltese flora. Inadvertent and unregulated crushing or killing of rare species puts Malta on the biodiversity map of shame.
Educating off-roaders may go some way to preserving natural heritage. At least, prickly garigue is murder for tyres and discourages all but the rich or foolish. Permits for off-roading were formerly issued by Malta Environment and Planning Authority under the 2003 regulations. Currently, new applications for off-roading permits are being considered against a regime of environmental permits for outdoor activities.
A paper on rural strategy classifies off-roading as 'incompatible' and requires dedicated areas. Mepa is in the process of identifying sites that can be used for the sport. Discussions are ongoing with AWDC in the search for a solution for off-roading requests within environmental parameters.
Large quarries, originally proposed as suitable for holding off-road events, have now become more lucrative as dumpsites for stone waste.
Development of an urban boulder park may be a possible future alternative.
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Anne Zammit
May 31st 2008, 16:43
Funny how one can put their best into a piece to produce a balanced article and still raise people's heckles. I took a truckful of trouble to research this piece, interviewing AWDC officials and spending a day jostling around by public transport as far as Xlendi to do the field work - so hardly from the comfort of my sofa as claimed. Even hitched a ride in the back of Sue's landrover up to Fontana. Of course we did not cross any fields. AWDC is trying to lay down guidelines and rope in stray sheep for which the club is to be admired. This reply is late due to being away and off email. As for private property in the countryside social justice would be done when everyone can enjoy the natural environment equally and yes the law needs changing as it is a grey area leaving MEPA rather helpless on that score.
Kenneth Cassar
May 27th 2008, 11:39
One cannot rationally deny the obvious, David. That's why I made the comment, even though I stand to gain nothing (or perhaps little) from it.
I think land-owning hunters should take note of my idea (of official signage by MEPA) and discuss it with MEPA. This way, land-owners may enjoy their privacy (of course as long as no illegalities take place on their property, and always subject to any conditions on the sale), while the squatters who simply paint RTO on common land would be exposed.
David Borg Cardona
May 26th 2008, 22:07
@Mark Alosio
You want us to give it a rest.. Where were you in all these years ?? Or maybe you did not notice the tirade against us by the anti-hunting lobby. Its about time we make our voice heard to show the public that the so called "facts" put forward by Birdlife & co. are just a vile twisting of the truth.
@Kenneth Cassar
I rarely if never agree with your views but on this subject we are in a 100% agreement. People seem to think that private property simply does not exist. On the contrary to public belief, the majority of the countryside is privately owned.
Brian Scicluna
May 26th 2008, 08:58
I will nominate Anne Zammit for a Nobel Prize in Generalization! She definitely doesn't know AWDC and all that she is saying is without basis and definitely untrue. Being a fervent member of AWDC myself, I've been advised a million times by the club not to venture on illegal offroading in places she mentions! AWDC is a club for offroaders but you cannot generalise that everything that offroaders do, do it in the name of AWDC. The club has been pushing successfully for competition permits ever since I can remember and all the club does is legal! The fact that some people might be caught offroading in ecologically senstive areas does not mean they were sent by AWDC! Our club has been doing its utmost to change this incorrect image that some journalists have given to us, then comes this Anne Zammit and from the comfort of her sofa and does her best to demolish all that has been achieved! I think its a case for a libel. She should apologise in her next article...
Kenneth Cassar
May 26th 2008, 08:54
Although I am an "anti-hunting" person, I can understand Mark Mifsud Bonnici's point of view. Private property is private property. The problem is that simply painting RTO does not make an open space private property. The problem is knowing what is legally private property and what is not.
There is a simple solution though, which is official signs endorsed by MEPA. Then the public would know what is really private property (and should stay out) and what is not (and therefore be able to enjoy public spaces that are the property of no-one.
MARK MIFSUD BONNICI
May 25th 2008, 22:29
@Mark Aloisio
I will give it a rest when I see justice done. In the meantime tell the antis to give it a rest.
Mark Aloisio
May 25th 2008, 19:26
Mark Mifsud Bonnici: give it a rest!
MARK MIFSUD BONNICI
May 25th 2008, 13:13
In your article you refer to "Both complain of being denied access to the countryside by farmers and RTO (Riservato) signs, reserving the area for hunters."
Are you implying that farmers and hunters should allow free access to Ramblers and Off-roaders. Have you never heard of PRIVATE PROPERTY.
On May 7 I sent a letter to the Times to correct the misleading information contained in your article Passion Migrates (April 27) which to date has not been published. I am re-sending this letter in the hope that it will be published.
You might not realize the privilege of having your own space to comment about others at your hearts content. The only problem is that anyone contradicting or correcting you has to wait for the Editor's discretion before his letter is published.
Hunters have a lot in common with environmentalists though you might find this hard to admit. Sustainable hunting is recognized as an acceptable pastime worldwide. It is only in Malta that this animosity exists. Unfortunately, your biased misinformed opinion contributes to this pitiful state of affairs.