Blue Flag check on Ramla Bay after removal of rocks

Ramla Bay is to be inspected for any impact that the removal of rocks by tractor last Friday may have had on its Blue Flag status.

“Blue Flag International will have one of its officials check on the beach in the coming days to ensure that no environmental damage was done and that the action taken was correct,” said Nature Trust, which is the local Blue Flag representative.

The controversy has come at an unfortunate time as Ramla Bay is due to officially receive its Blue Flag on Saturday.

The Blue Flag is an international eco-label awarded to eligible beaches for water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management and safety.

The use of heavy machinery at such a sensitive ecological site provoked much discussion after it was highlighted by environmentalist Alan Deidun on Facebook last Tuesday.

In a statement yesterday, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority said it consented to the works because it was satisfied with the detailed method statement that was submitted by the Gozo Ministry.

The works were carried out by a mechanical backhoe loader and tractor shovel. Mepa said the task could not be carried out by hand as the stones were spread across a large area, at an approximate depth of 120 centimetres. Pebbles on the sand dunes were removed manually by beach cleaners.

Gaia Foundation, an environment NGO which manages Ramla Bay, defended the removal of the stones in a statement yesterday. It said the works returned the beach to its “normal state” with no impact on the ecological integrity of the site.

The foundation said the works were necessary because frequent north-westerly winds last winter had blown the sand beneath the Belancourt Battery across the beach, which forms part of a Natura 2000 site.

In place of the sand, a large amount of stones from a collapsed sea wall had washed ashore, forming a layer over one metre high.

“Stones extraneous to the site were removed while the excess amount of pebbles were placed along the water course, to remain in the natural eco system,” the foundation said.

Gaia said it had personnel on site last Friday from 4am to 10.45am to supervise the works. The sand dunes were left untouched.

The works were contracted out by the Gozo Ministry, which also had an engineer onsite to supervise.

By the time of going to press, the ministry had not responded to questions about the contractor’s experience in operating at sensitive ecological sites.

The Malta Tourism Authority denied exerting pressure on Mepa to approve the removal of stones at the popular beach.

A spokesman for the MTA said it had merely passed on “several” complaints about accessibility it had received to the Gozo Ministry, Gaia and Xagħra local council.

Following Gaia’s statement yesterday, Dr Deidun posted another photo on Facebook showing a huge trench that was dug just centimetres from the sand dunes and watercourse. It has since been filled in and there are no visible signs of the works that took place.

Ramla Bay is one of only eight beaches in Malta and Gozo to have the prestigious Blue Flag status.

The sand dunes of Ramla Bay are scheduled by Mepa as a Level 1 Area of Ecological Importance, the garigue communities and maritime vegetation as a Level 2 Area of Ecological Importance, and the sandy beach and surrounding fields as a Level 3 buffer zone.

Dr Deidun will write more about this matter in his next column in The Sunday Times of Malta.