Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1327039
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JANUARY 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THREE landowners are contesting a de- cision by the Environment and Resourc- es Authority to designate the ecological- ly rich Tal-Wej area between Mosta and Naxxar, as a Natura 2000 site. The landowners, which include for- mer Nationalist health minister Louis Deguara, are represented by lawyer and government consultant Robert Musu- meci. They filed an appeal against the designation of Tal-Wej as an Area of Ecological Importance, which would form part of the EU's network of pro- tected sites and obtain greater protec- tion through the drafting of a manage- ment plan. The ecological and archaeological im- portance of Tal-Wej, which is outside development zones, is self-evident and has already been recognised by the au- thorities who have over the years grant- ed various levels of protection to the area, including a 2011 scheduling of the freshwater rock pools and adjacent buff- er zones. The area is also listed as a Class A archaeological site, forming part of a wider cultural landscape that includes cart-ruts, dolmens, ancient quarries, rock-cut tombs, corbelled huts and a 16th century chapel dedicated to Santa Margherita. But three landowners, namely Joseph Camilleri, Louis Deguara and Leonard Vella, have filed an appeal against the designation, claiming they were denied a right of fair hearing when the ERA des- ignated the area as a Natura 2000 site in September. The inclusion of Tal-Wej in Mosta and Has-Saptan in Birzebbugia in the network of EU protected sites was first announced by Minister Aaron Farrugia in March, scientifically justified by the presence of temporary freshwater rock pools, which are rare in the Maltese Is- lands. These habitats support unique com- munities with species like the Maltese Horned Pondweed, unique to Malta, and the Maltese Waterwort, a species confined to the Maltese islands and the nearby Pelagian Islands. These pools al- so support populations of the otherwise very rare Tadpole Shrimp. Environmentalists who have object- ed to past attempts to develop the area welcomed the decision. All landowners had been informed about the scheduling of the site in a letter sent by ERA in July. But the landowners claim they were not given any information on the sci- entific, social, cultural and policy con- siderations, which led to the selection of the site as a Natura 2000 site. They complained that they were not given a "standard data form" containing this in- formation. No rockpools on my property, insists Deguara Contacted by MaltaToday, Louis De- guara, a former health minister and Nationalist MP, insisted that the farm plot he owns in the area is between 400- 500m away from the protected rock- pools and is bounded by two roads and an already developed area. "I have noth- ing against the protection of the ecolog- ically important areas but there are no rock pools or cart ruts on my plot which is even devoid of soil…" When it was pointed out to him that zoning of ecologically important areas normally also includes buffer zones to prevent development encroaching on the protected areas, Deguara replied that an area closer to the rock pools was included in the extension of bounda- ries undertaken in 2006 by the PN led government. "Construction has already taken place in close vicinity of these rock pools… far closer than my own plot which is around 400m away." Deguara said he felt his plot was un- fairly kept outside development zones in the 2006 extension by the then-PN gov- ernment, adding that it does not make sense to end the scheme with a blank wall, as is presently the case. In 2018 speculation on a prospective extension of building boundaries in Tal- Wej was fuelled by a mysterious advert on a property website – which has since been removed online – describing a 2,750sq.m plot of land located just out- side the building scheme as "an invest- ment opportunity since it is adjacent to (building) scheme and with plans to be in rationalization for development of terraced houses and villas". The land was given a €1.8 million price tag. This coincided with a request to the Planning Authority by John Mary Mi- callef for the removal of topsoil over a 2,800sq.m in the protected Tal-Wej ar- ea, which was withdrawn in February 2018. The controversial request was made under the pretext of an archaeo- logical investigation but the developers did not state their intentions for the site known as Tal-Wej, Triq is-Seneskalk and in the vicinity of another plot added to the development zone in 2006. The designation of the entire Tal-Wej area as a Natura 2000 will put an end to spec- ulation on any further tinkering with development boundaries in the area. Tal-Wej landowners object to Natura 2000 zoning Three landowners, namely Joseph Camilleri, Louis Deguara and Leonard Vella, have filed an appeal against the designation, claiming they were denied a right of fair hearing when the ERA designated the area as a Natura 2000 site in September The landowners claim they were not given any information on the scientific, social, cultural and policy considerations, which led to the selection of the site as a Natura 2000 site