Tal-Wej has been officially confirmed as a Natura 2000 site, despite several landowner objections.

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) celebrated the decision taken yesterday by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), designating Tal-Wej as a Special Area of Conservation of both National and International importance.

This was a confirmation of a decision taken by ERA in 2019 when it designated the area as a Natura 2000 protected site.

This decision was highly disputed by a number of landowners, yet the EPRT confirmed the importance of protecting the site in its entirety as part of the European Natura 2000 ecological network.

The site covers an area of 203,484 metres squared within the limits of Mosta and Naxxar and it’s characterised by temporary freshwater rock pools that form in outcrops of the Lower Coralline Limestone. These freshwater rock pool habitats are locally scarce due to their temporary nature, small size, and limited distribution.

They host flora such as the Maltese Waterwort (Elatine gussonei), the Maltese Horned Pondweed (Zannichellia melitensis) and fauna such as the Tadpole Shrimp (Triops cancriformis), and the Painted Frog (Discoglossus pictus). The area also hosts garrigue and grassland habitats.

In addition to this, the area is 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.

Do you agree with the EPRT’s decision?