Dumping at Dwejra - Ministry 'committed' to find culprits

The Ministry of Gozo said this morning that it was 'committed' to find whoever had illegally dumped construction material on the cliff overlooking scenic Dwejra.

The abuse was reported by The Sunday Times today.

The ministry said it was working closely with the police and Mepa about the case and had acted immediately it learnt of the abuse.

The ministry said that irresponsible cases such as this renewed its determination to fight abuse.

The Sunday Times reported that the stretch of cliffs behind the iconic Azure Window in Dwejra has been defaced by the unbridled illegal dumping of construction rubble.

The latest incident consisted of rubble being dumped in 4ft-high mounds, placed neatly in a row, a short distance from the cliff - marring one of the most picturesque views in the Maltese islands.

The entire area in the limits of San Lawrenz, precisely the type of pristine tourist spot being promoted in Gozo, is littered with old and fresh rubble, gravel and concrete - as well unsightly constructions used by hunters.

Not only had nothing been done about the dumping, but it appeared that the authorities were not even aware of it, the newspaper said.

Alerted by The Sunday Times, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority sent an enforcement officer and opened a case on the matter.

The authority could not establish when the waste was deposited. The only reference points were aerial shots taken in 2008. The stones were not cut recently but people familiar with the area said the heaps of rubble 'overlooking' the Dwejra window were dumped within the past fortnight.

A resident said: "People have been dumping rubbish and rubble in this area for years and it is now getting worse by the day. An area like this should be a showcase for the island. Instead it is an embarrassment. So much for eco-Gozo."

San Lawrenz mayor Noel Formosa has also claimed to be unaware of the dumping. "This is news to me... I condemn it wholeheartedly and promise to take action," he said when contacted.

Photos taken by The Sunday Times - which were passed on to Mepa and the police - also showed a lone construction truck stuck in the area after appearing to sustain a puncture on the rugged land.

The Dwejra area in general has been plagued by chronic dumping of construction waste. In 2000, The Times had exposed a small landfill, dubbed 'mini-Magħtab', on the top of the cliff overlooking the inland sea.

The site has been cleaned up since at considerable expense but several years and condemnations later, the area is still targeted as a free alternative to the regulated dumps, which charge to landfill construction waste.

Mr Formosa said he was doing his utmost to deal with the problem but lacked the resources allocated in the form of eco-wardens by a regional committee.

David Soler, an official of the Gozo Joint Committee for Law Enforcement, said eco-wardens were sometimes sent to the area but manpower was inadequate.

"At the moment there is one eco-warden for the whole of Gozo. Coupled with the fact that this is in itself a very tricky infringement to witness, you begin to understand why something like this happens."

The local enforcement system reform, which should be in place by the end of the year, proposes the presence of one warden per local council and this, Mr Soler said, should start to make the difference. "That would change things drastically, but people's mentality also has to change. People complain when wardens work undercover and hide to be able to catch perpetrators red-handed - but that is precisely what you need to catch something like illegal dumping. Nobody will dump material in broad daylight if there is someone around," he said.