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Exclusive: Mature Trees Chopped Up Between Fgura And Żabbar

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Updated at 1.15pm

Mature trees are being chopped up into pieces at this very moment, photos sent exclusively to Lovin Malta have revealed.

The massacre is taking place along Vjal il-Kottoner, a road situated between Żabbar and Fgura, with Infrastructure Malta reportedly working on the road nearby.

“They are chopping them in pieces right there so no transplanting for sure, even though we know that does not work in most cases anyway,” said Suzanne Maas, Climate Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth Malta, also attaching a dropped pin.

The photos were taken around half an hour ago, with Maas claiming that the trees were Eucalyptus and probably Australian pine trees.

“We are shocked to have found out mature pine trees being chopped in pieces along Vjal il Kottoner.”

“Who in today’s age of climate crisis and air pollution can think it is right to remove mature trees? Furthermore, we cannot find a relevant permit online nor on-site by the authority commissioning the works, Infrastructure Malta.”

“As a cyclist and expert in sustainable mobility, this is not the way to redesign roads – we need trees to provide shade and mitigate air and noise pollution, and roads should be redesigned to include existing mature trees in them.”

Meanwhile, a look through the ERA websites to identify a related permit found no authorisation from ERA to cut the trees.

Lovin Malta attempted to reach out to Infrastructure Malta CEO and a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry, however, no response was given at the time of publishing.

Update: After contacting Infrastructure Malta, they specified that the mature trees which were removed were either “invasive, damaged, or dead trees, all covered by necessary permits, if/when required”.

A spokesperson continued to say that 20 Casuarina trees were removed, along with one dead Cupressus, 4 tree stumps, and 6 eucalyptus. They also said that the trees are set to be replaced by 90 new saplings.

Do you think the state should be uprooting mature trees in this day and age? 

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Sasha is a writer, creator, and podcast host interested in environmental matters, humans, and art. Some know her as Sasha tas-Sigar. Inspired by nature and the changing world. Follow her on Instagram at @saaxhaa and send her your stories at [email protected]

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