Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475578
NEWS 16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 AUGUST 2022 Shabby island: visually-impaired are victims of lack of public hygiene MATTHEW VELLA GARBAGE and urban debris in some of Malta's most populated towns and seaside localities have become a regular nuisance in the hot summer months. But to the visually-impaired the threat of unhygienic street furniture and environs is now a national con- cern. So says Michael Micallef, the head of a new campaign – Safe And Hygienic Pedestrian Man- agements – who wants local councils and Prime Minister Robert Abela to come aboard the Visual Non-Visual Net- work's (VNVN) campaign for public cleanliness. "Blind people still face ob- stacles when walking dai- ly on pavements, especial- ly when these are relatively new, and when garbage is left out on pavements, or animal excrement is left on pave- ments," said VNVN spokes- person Mary Anne Zammit. Zammit will be meeting Sap- port CEO Oliver Scicluna, the Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef, as well as rep- resentatives from the transport and public works ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister to discuss the cam- paign. "We are proposing that there is more knowledge and infor- mation about these situations which to us seem trivial, but are great obstacles and even of danger to the blind as they may be more prone to accidents. The campaign is aiming to reach out to the administration of local councils and sections of law enforcement in Malta." Michael Micallef, who also runs the Beyond Light project for VNVN, said even guide dogs are victims of unsafe and unhygienic pedestrian areas. "It is mainly due to the impact of a dense population," Micallef said. "Malta must surmount this passive, social inclusion framework... with hands-on, intensive, and actively safe, pe- destrian management." Trash piling up on roadsides and pedestrian areas over the weekends are visible problems in tourist areas such as the Sliema, St Julian's localities, as well as northern towns like St Paul's Bay, Bugibba and Qawra. Mounds of rubbish around the main thoroughfares ex- asperates residents who are concerned with infestations of vermin. But to the visually-im- paired, mounds of rubbish and garbage bags block pavements – especially in areas where rental residents or short-stay holidaymakers are not accli- matised to garbage collection schedules. St Julian's mayor Albert Butt- igieg has proposed the use of Green Wardens to increase surveillance in the area, but this would involve a new ex- pense for cash-strapped local councils. Buttigieg has also said that landlords should be responsi- ble for a separate deposit from tenants, should they ignore rules of trash disposal in the neighbourhood. JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese Top-shell Ster- omphala nivosa – a minis- cule, 3-9 mm long, attractively coloured marine snail that is endemic to Malta, has found a place in a compendium of Earth's endangered species and ecosystems. The Maltese top shell, which occurs in Maltese waters and nowhere else in the world, was thought extinct until rediscov- ered in the Sliema Creek in Marsamxett harbour in 2006. In 2010 a number of live in- dividuals were also found in Comino. An entry written by three lead- ing Maltese biologists recently featured in in 'Imperilled: The Encyclopedia of Conservation', which documents the threats to earth's imperiled species and ecosystems in one big compre- hensive encyclopedia. Previous studies dating back to 1978 had documented the presence of the species at St Thomas Bay in Marsaskala, here the species was first doc- umented in 1851. But studies in 2000 yielded no live individuals. The species is recognised as a critically endangered one and is protected by EU directives and its extinction in Malta would also mean its global extinction. An entry to the encyclopedia by leading Maltese biologists Dr. Julian Evans, Prof. Joseph A. Borg and Prof. Patrick J. Schembri, dwells on the chal- lenge posed by the "peculiar situation" where a very rare and highly endangered species was discovered in an area that has long been a harbour. This pre- sents conservation managers with a singular problem of how to balance conservation and so- cio-economic considerations. But the narrow range and fragmented population of the species make it a critically en- dangered species whose con- tinued survival depends on ad- equate conservation measures. It was only after 2006, when a live population of S. nivosa was rediscovered after a 25-year gap since the previous known sight- ing, that studies on its ecology and behaviour were first under- taken. These studies showed that the main threats and pressures faced by this species are habi- tat alteration or destruction. These include chemical pol- lution, nocturnal illumination and activities such as coastal development that cause physi- cal disturbance of the sea bed. "Conservation actions to con- trol development and pollu- tion that may affect the species' habitat are therefore required," the biologists said. The species is typically found in shallow waters up to 5m in depth. Earlier scientific re- search had identified the sea- grass Posidonia oceanica as its main habitat. However, recent discoveries have indicated that cobble beds are also an impor- tant habitat for this species. The Maltese Top-shell is a noc- turnal species, known to ven- ture at night to forage for food and then return under stones during the day to evade preda- tion. "We are proposing that there is more knowledge and information about these situations which to us seem trivial, but are great obstacles and even of danger to the blind as they may be more prone to accidents" Malta's endangered snail finds place in global encyclopedia Coastal development main threat to endangered species rediscovered in Sliema Creek and Comino years after thought extinct