The letter by Joe Bugeja regarding the Marsa golf course (The Sunday Times of Malta, January 18) was well-intentioned but contained a slew of misconceptions which I wish to correct.

Yes, Marsa used to be a “derelict marshland”. However, myriad species of “flora and fauna” mainly depend on unmodified marshland – a fast-dwindling wildlife habitat of top conservation priority – and the conversion of the Marsa marshland to a “green esplanade” has not “enhanced the environment” but was the reason for which many wetland species have now largely disappeared. Here are just a few of the species that used to occur at Marsa:

Flora: Euphorbia pubescens (extinct); Juncus effusus (extinct); Pteranthus dichotomus (critically endangered); Polygonum maritimum (critically endangered); Pulicaria dysenterica (very rare); Salix pedicellata (critically endangered); Sparganium erectum (extinct).

Fauna: Potamon fluviatile lanfrancoi (the endemic Maltese freshwater crab, the largest population of which used to occur at Marsa, now critically endangered and confined to six watercourses).

The prevailing mentality regarding environmental management is altering the countryside to make it fit our perception of ‘neat and tidy’ (‘kullimkien lixx u pulit’). Nothing could be further from the truth. It is often those areas that are ‘derelict’ and look shabby (‘żdingat’), like old Marsa, that are the biodiversity hotspots.

Thus, such areas should be left intact. A levelled turf esplanade may look more pleasing to our human eye, and green it certainly is. Yet its greenness is limited to its superficial colour.

Ecologically, it has little to recommend it.

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