Around 1,000 tonnes of material have been removed from Ta' Żejta valley in the limits of Victoria during after a clean-up exercise.

During this year, the Gozo Ministry will be cleaning four water-retaining facilities - two at Ta' Żejta Valley and another two at the valley situated between Victoria and Marsalforn. There are also plans to clean up around 30 reservoirs which have already been identified.

"This project will not only improve Gozo's countryside and clean it from material dumped throughout the years, but will also serve to attain better rainwater retention facilities during winter months. This should be beneficial for the agriculture sector," Gozo Minister Debono told a news conference.

An extensive project to clean the dams has also started thanks to the collaboration between the Gozo Ministry and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Malta joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Environment Day yesterday with several initiatives taken around the island.

The Labour Party said the government's decision to mark the day in Gozo was an insult considering the number of environmental abuses on the island.

Such abuses were in stark contrast to the government's promise to turn Gozo into an eco island, PL spokesman Leo Brincat said.

Mr Brincat also said the majority of amendments put forward by his party in connection with the reform of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority had been ignored.

In the meantime, the San Anton School gathered students and staff for an environmental activity at Selmun yesterday morning.

They removed an abandoned car which had been there for over 20 years.

"We feel proud that we have done our bit this morning to clean up our island and have contributed to this global initiative," student George Zahra said.