Illegal dumping of household bulky waste was recently discovered at Pembroke by a voluntary ranger with Nature Trust Malta who inspects this Nature 2000 – designated site twice a week.
NTM has said that it is seriously concerned about the “lack of enforcement and commitment by the authorities to protect local natural heritage. Pembroke Local Council has cleaned the area by the time this Press was released and NTM would like to thank the council for its timely action.”
MEPA has identified 34 local Natura 2000 terrestrial sites and already €1.3 million were spent through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to co-finance the management plans and provide a legal framework for the management of these sites besides to increase awareness among the general public and stakeholders.
However, NTM said that it insists that “frequent patrols and prohibitive punitive measures are in place, since such sites are continuously under threat. Two other Natura 2000 sites under constant dumping threat are il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk (known also as Il-Maghluq), and il-Maghluq ta’ Marsascala. These are the only Natura 2000 sites in the already densely populated South of Malta.”
NTM added that recently, MEP Therese Comodini Cachia highlighted a similar situation of illegal dumping of construction waste at Dwejra- another Natura 2000 designated site and urged the European Commission to intervene about the situation at Dwejra.
“Rather than focusing on Dwejra, NTM insists that the European Commission should look into the state of all Natura 2000 sites, considering the size of our Islands and the fragility and constant threats at such sites which account to just 13% (just 42 km2) of our terrestrial land area,” NTM concluded.
Photographs: NTM