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Moviment Graffitti has announced that following Environment and Resources Aurthority’s decision to ”greenlight the uprooting of 800 trees, as well as heavy construction and excavation works on the Comino nature reserve, we are today launching Comino Watch, calling on the public to immediately report any demolition, excavation or construction works, the uprooting of trees, and the transportation of heavy machinery to Comino.”
The organisation argued that ”ERA’s decision means that Hili Group could begin works on the 44 swimming pools, 16 villas and 70-room hotel in the coming weeks, even as the court case challenging the PA permit issued last year is still ongoing.”
It warned that the threat posed by this project to Comino is ”enormous. It would bring intensive, year-round activity to the island’s delicate and already heavily strained environment, while extending the existing development footprint into a large area of untouched garigue land and increasing the overall volume of built development.”
”We have made our position clear, and we reiterate it today: we will not allow Hili Group to begin defacing Comino while the PA permit is still subject to an ongoing legal challenge,” stated Graffitti. ”In May, the Court already ruled in our favour on a major point and sent the case back to the Tribunal for reconsideration. The case remains ongoing.”
Graffitti added that ”with the support of the general public and several NGOs, we are confident that any works taking place on Comino will be spotted and reported immediately, allowing the necessary action to be taken to protect our nature reserve.”
The organisation advised that members of the public can report any such activity by emailing info@movimentgraffitti.org [1] or sending a message to 7762 1113.
”We are also encouraging people to join the Save Comino WhatsApp group [2] – so that we can immediately inform them of any developments and coordinate action to protect Comino,”’Graffitti concluded.