MEP Roberta Metsola has said that "more needs to be done" to safeguard the Azure Window, in particular to stop people walking across the top of one of the most popular attractions on the Maltese islands. "A few signposts are simply not enough."
The MEP, writing on her facebook page said that, "despite the dangers to visitors, divers and the iconic window itself, hundreds of people are still walking on top of Gozo's Azure Window in Dwejra."
She added that, "if sufficient resources are not allocated to adequately control the site, the risk of accelerating nature's damage and the risk to people in the area will only increase."
"We will keep up the pressure for action to be taken in order to do what we can to safeguard one of Malta and Gozo's most beautiful sites for as long as possible," said MEP Metsola.
"It is not only about the Azure Window. We all have a part to play to raise awareness about the need to protect our natural heritage across the nation."
In May this year, Professor Vincent May, from the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at Bournemouth University in the UK, carried out a three-day study, which focused on geology, primarily regarding the deterioration of the Azure Window.
The study also focused on what is causing the damage to the Azure Window, such as rain or high waves.
The Azure Window on a windy August evening by Alain Salvary