Maltese scientists ignored on Għadira beach issue

The Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Communications has recently published on its website the report on the coastal geomorphology of Għadira beach.

The report was produced by a team led by Kenneth Pye that was brought over following the controversial plan to relocate the coast road. The conclusions of this report confirm what Maltese earth scientists (geologists and oceanographers) have been publicly saying for the past two years, that sea-level rise and increased storm activity are the main causes of beach erosion. However, it is only now that the government seems to be rethinking its plans for Għadira. Removing the coast road there will not stop sea-level rise or mitigate beach erosion.

Interestingly, Prof. Pye's report does not support the conclusions of last year's news conference addressed by Minister Austin Gatt and Adrian Mallia, when the latter wrongly claimed that the sand at Għadira is not of marine origin. This misled the minister and the public into believing that the erosion of the beach was caused by the coast road that was supposedly blocking replenishment with land-derived sand.

Last year, the government sadly chose to depend on uninformed opinion while disregarding the advice given by local earth scientists, even though this was just as valid as that presented by foreign geologists a few weeks ago.

Hopefully, this approach will not be repeated for the roads sector which is also part of the mentioned ministry's remit. Indeed, many of the problems relating to the poor quality and limited durability of Maltese roads are a direct result of a poor understanding of surface geology and the use of inadequate aggregate, which remains a poorly regulated local geological resource.

However, we may have to wait a number of years until the government commissions a foreign geologist to tell us exactly that.