NGO’s Din l-Art Ħelwa and Nature Trust welcomed the announcement communicated last week by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) that the Ta’ Cenc cliffs is proposed for Natura 2000 protection.
The two NGO’s said that this declaration is positive, and definitely a step in the right direction.
Since the designated area only extends along part of the cliff, albeit perhaps the most sensitive area for the birds nesting there, it is augured that further steps will be taken to protect this ecological and environmentally sensitive area which is also of significant archaeological value. Further information as to how the area will be managed and the extent of the activities permitted in the surrounding areas is yet to be determined.
The Minister of the Environment’s declaration that the Structure Plan is to be respected – and that therefore development must only be in the vicinity of the existing hotel - effectively rules out the construction of the villas near Mgarr ix-Xini and the golf course, and ensures that much of the area is to be retained in its natural state. The NGO’s added that the Structure Plan also requires the majority of the area to be designated a Heritage Park. This process has yet to be started – a full fourteen years later.
Natura 2000 status will ensure at least part of the area will be given further protection as it obliges the Government to take active steps to protect and conserve the designated areas. This is certainly another step in the right direction.
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for Ta’ Cenc to be saved, the NGO’s stated. This petition will shortly be presented by Din L-Art Helwa. The message must be made clear that land outside the development zones must not be used as an excuse for low cost real estate developments. On the contrary protecting the countryside will also limit further damage to Malta’s tourism product, which has suffered so badly from unbridled construction since the sixties.
See also:
Ten new sites proposed for Natura2000
by MaltaMedia News - Oct 12, 2006
NTM welcomes ousting of Ta’ Ċenċ development
by MaltaMedia News - Sep 12, 2006
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