This is an urgent plea to the Planning Authority, the Environment and Resources Authority, the Mosta local council and Mosta residents to oppose and refute the proposed development for the Tal-Wej area: the removal of topsoil which, we all know, is a fig leaf for yet more development.

The area in question is peppered with Punic tombs and cart ruts, hence it has been scheduled as a Class A area of archeological importance.

The karstland in the area holds one of the largest concentrations of rock pools in the country, a habitat type that is so thinly scattered that nearly all fauna and flora associated with it is rare and threatened.

Here are just some of the rare aquatic/semi-aquatic plant species present at Tal-Wej: Callitriche truncata, Crassula vaillantii, Damasonium bourgaei (known from only eight localities), Elatine gussonei (sub-endemic) and Zanichellia melitensis (endemic).

Animal species present include the tadpole shrimp (Triops cancriformis), which is critically endangered, and the painted frog (Discoglossus pictus ssp. pictus), a subspecies endemic to Malta and Sicily.

These criteria more than justify the fact that the place was scheduled as area of ecological importance and a site of scientific interest.

Also present is another scarce rural feature: a stretch of levelled rock among the fields that seems to have been used in the distant past as a threshing floor (qiegħa).

Hence, it is imperative that all further development in the area be outlawed. Building up Tal-Wej will not only impoverish what is left of our wildlife but also wipe out an expanse of countryside of considerable landscape value, thus contributing to the disfigurement and Dubai-ification of our charming islands.