Two environmental organisations have called on the government to carry out ecological studies on a part of the White Rocks site with a view to protecting and scheduling it.

The area in question is right next to the Pembroke Natura 2000 site and is characterised by a large variety of endemic and rare plants, the organisations said.

It is marked as Zone 2 in the 1995 White Rocks Development Brief.

Din l-Art Ħelwa and Nature Trust Malta made their arguments in a letter to Environment Minister Leo Brincat.

They asked him to initiate ecological studies for potential scheduling of the zone as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or an Area of Ecological Importance (AEI).

Any redevelopment of the White Rocks complex (which is divided into three zones) should not extend beyond Zone 1 of the existing 1995 development brief boundaries, they said.

“Tourism developments can be sensitively developed in the vicinity of protected areas in order to enhance and promote the concept of eco-tourism.”

The NGOs said that preserving this site of high ecological value would add value to the site itself as it would attract visitors interested in eco-tourism. This would also show that Malta was indeed promoting sustainable development.

The government recently issued a call for expressions of interest for the transformation of the dilapidated White Rocks complex, which originally served as married quarters for the British services, into an upmarket real estate development.

The possibility of developing the prime site on the coast to the north of Pembroke has been considered for years.

When the British left, the site had been turned into a tourist complex. It eventually closed down and was allowed to fall into ruins.

The Nationalist government had announced, in June 2010, that a UK firm was to turn it into an upscale €200 million sports village but those plans never materialised.