Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540243
5 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 10 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS Heritage gain? TWO weeks ago, Malta applied for candidacy to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, proof, the Culture Minister claimed, of "concrete commit- ment" to safeguarding cultural heritage"— "concrete" being the operative word. As Malta seeks a place among the global guardians of archae- ological sites, it is pouring con- crete on its own. Last Saturday, thousands at Ġustizza għal Artna marched against Malta's failure to safe- guard the environment. One need only look at the landscape surrounding the Santa Verna Temple to see this country's "concrete commitment". Concrete has indeed been poured. Dreadful stables now scar once-pristine land 200m west of the temple. More threatens the Ta' Lablab caves and Neolithic settlement 230m north. Other illegal develop- ments continue unabated. The Għajn Lukin plateau preserves traces of every Neo- lithic phase back to 5400 BC, including settlements millen- nia before Ġgantija. Though few megaliths remain visible, FRAGSUS excavations revealed a buried five-apsed temple. Yet, areas filled with vital archaeo- logical information around it risk being bulldozed into obliv- ion. How can a government that demolishes prehistoric land- scapes claim authority over other countries' sites? Proposed "reforms" to Plan- ning Laws (Bills 143 & 144) would strip citizens, NGOs, and even courts of the power to halt such abuses. These "re- forms" do not improve the en- vironment—they massacre it. The situation in the Ta' Lablab area is beyond comprehension. In 2012, a Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) officer warned parts of it overlapped the temple's buffer zone and should be protected. Yet in 2022, authorities approved the demolition of its ancient cave system for a €5K "Heritage Gain" settlement. Heritage "Gain"? This is Heritage "Loss". Mon- ey cannot replace this ancient landscape.A Worse, in 2023 a Xagħra res- ident discovered a half-bull- dozed pit filled with human bones with others scattered around Ta' Lablab. SCH ver- ified her finds, identifying a Temple Period burial contain- ing seven skulls, mostly chil- dren's. Environmental Planning and Review Tribunal (EPRT) documents show the archae- ological monitor failed to re- port these remains, violating Cultural Heritage Laws, yet appears to have faced no con- sequences. Shockingly, three construction applications (PA/5171/23, PA/3174/23, and PA/02771/25), totalling 19 maisonettes, Jacuzzis, and a basement parking garage— steps from the pit, caves, and buffer zone—were granted. Meanwhile, Malta hosts the Euro- pean Heritage Heads Fo- rum, speaking loftily about " p r e v e n t i v e archaeology". In the UNES- CO candidacy speech, the Min- ister praised "multi- lateralism", even as they con- centrate power unilaterally, attempting to strip power from courts and citizens. This past weekend, thou- sands marched in anger against changes that further reduce people's ability to halt environ- mentally harmful and cultural- ly destructive development. You cannot market yourself as a protector of ancient sites on one hand, while simultane- ously granting permits that de- stroy archaeological sites and strip citizens of the power to contest those developments on the other. Is this the governance UNES- CO should elevate? UNESCO should be chastis- ing Malta and holding her ac- countable for the destruction to archaeological and natural sites, not rewarding her with a prestigious position. Pope Francis wrote: "[O]ur common home is like a sister with whom we share our life... This sister now cries out to us be- cause of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irre- sponsible use and abuse". Pope Leo adds: "Everyone in society, through nongovernmental or- ganizations and advocacy groups, must put pressure on governments to implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls... Only then will it be possible to mit- igate the damage done to the environment". This is not a government that takes the Popes' words to heart. As Jane Goodall, the world-re- nowned scientist who recently passed, bluntly warned us: "in- telligent species do not destroy their only home". We ask the government to stop pouring concrete on ours. Please join the call to protect the Santa Verna Archaeolog- ical Landscape. Sign the Par- liamentary petition (deadline 13 October) and attend MAL- TA-ARCH's 1 November "Pro- tect this Land" Protest-Perfor- Written by Dawn A. Saliba Protesters gather at the Santa Verna Temple site to demand an end to illegal construction and the protection of Malta's archaeological heritage