Sixteen NGOs United In Fight To Save Wied Żnuber, Call For New Airstrip Plan To Be Withdrawn
A group of sixteen local NGOs have united in the fight to save Wied Żnuber, appealing for the plan to be withdrawn immediately.
The 16 organisations, representing a wide spectrum of interests – from environmental organisations to girl guides, from fishermen to social and cultural groups – have written a letter to Prime Minister Robert Abela calling on him to withdraw plans for a mini-airstrip in the Wied Żnuber area of Birżebbuġa.
Plans seen by farmers of the area indicate the project would be massive, taking up around 4,046 square metres of garigue and agricultural land – the equivalent of seven football pitches.
The plan for an airstrip by the valley and the cliffs of the area was announced last month at the signing of an agreement between the government agency INDIS and an airplane model association.
In their letter, the organisations lamented that residents, the Birżebbuġa Local Council and other stakeholders were not consulted about these plans, and that the exact plans of the airstrip are being kept under wraps until the day of the signing.
The organisations highlighted the important ecological and social value of the site, which currently severs as a buffer zone between the industrial area and the valley and cliffs.
It is also home to rich biodiversity including protected species of flora and fauna, as well as important historical remains such as a dolmen, ancient water canals and a military shelter.
Moreover, the loud and incessant noise of model remote control airplanes would drastically increase light and noise pollution in the area and destroy the serenity of the valley and surrounding cliffs, to the detriment of biodiversity, residents and visitors.
The organisations emphasised their fight to protect this site and its surroundings will continue.
A walk, in appreciation of the environment and history of Wied Żnuber’s surroundings, and to show the widespread opposition to the plans threatening it, is planned for Saturday 19th March at 10.30am, starting from the Bengħajsa church in Birżebbuġa, to the site of the planned airstrip.
The letter was signed by the following organisations:
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