No management plan for Dwejra
The planning authority has admitted it has no management plan in place for Dwejra as envisaged by the EU Habitats Directive for special areas of conservation under the Natura 2000 network. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority however insists...
The planning authority has admitted it has no management plan in place for Dwejra as envisaged by the EU Habitats Directive for special areas of conservation under the Natura 2000 network.
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority however insists that, according to EU rules, it has until 2014 to put such a plan in place.
The Commission last week stepped in to investigate the damage to Dwejra after the fossil-rich site was covered in sand-like construction material for the filming of a TV series and to see if any directive provisions were broken by Maltese authorities.
The Commission said that, after being tipped by Maltese NGOs, it had written to the authorities demanding information on how Mepa assessed the situation, the possibilities to repair damage and the management plan that should have been put in place.
Asked whether the Commission had any knowledge of such a management plan, a spokesman said it did not and had in fact asked the Maltese authorities about it.
Mepa has admitted the plan was still in its inception stage. A contract to start the process for such a plan would be signed later this year.
According to the spokesman, the Commission does not have to approve management plans for Natura 2000 sites as this is the competence of local authorities. However, in cases where the Habitats Directive is not respected, the Commission will look at the management plan when analysing such a case.
“The Commission may consider that the damage is aggravated by the absence of a management plan and/or request adequate management for responding to the damaging situation,” the spokesman said.
“In the present case, the Commission will analyse the information we will receive from the authorities. A management plan has been proposed in the framework of the 2007 Life project but it’s not clear if this was fully in place when the damage was done,” he added.
Asked why such a plan was not yet in place since Dwejra was declared a special area of conservation in 2008, a Mepa spokesman insisted the EU directive gave it ample time to do so. “Malta is required to establish provisions for the management of the site within six years from the Commission’s adoption as a site of community importance,” Mepa said.
This means the management plan for Dwejra can wait until 2014.