Tal-Wej, Ħas-Saptan And Wied Il-Mielaħ Designated As Protected Natura 2000 Sites
A new proposal for three key natural sites around Malta and Gozo to be given special protection status has been put forward on World Environment Day.
Tal-Wej in Mosta, Ħas-Saptan in Birżebbuġa and Wied il-Mielaħ in Għarb, Gozo have been added to the European Union’s Natura 2000 network and have now been designated as Special Areas of Conservation.
“Nature and biodiversity are not just a nice-to-have – they are essential,” Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said today.
“Essential because of the quality of our air and our food, as well as the state of our economy and health, depends on it. To protect this, we need to also provide adequate protection and care to sites of ecological importance,” he continued.
Wied il-Mielaħ has also now been declared as a Special Protection Area (SPA). L-Għadira s-Safra, an existing Natura 2000 site, has been extended to cover further elements of ecological importance.
The proposed sites will be added to the 34 terrestrial Natura 2000 sites already in place in the Maltese Islands, which cover over 13% of the total land area of the Maltese Islands.
Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) CEO Michelle Piccinino said the protection announced today for these sites shows ERA’s “commitment towards the environment and its vision for the future for a healthier environment and improved wellbeing”.
Tal-Wej, Mosta
Tal-Wej and the Ħas-Saptan areas were designated due to the presence of temporary freshwater rock pools, which are rare in the Maltese islands.
These habitats support unique communities, with species like the Maltese Horned Pondweed, unique to Malta in the world; and Maltese Waterwort, a species confined to the Maltese islands and the nearby Pelagian Islands (Italy) in the world.
These pools also support populations of the otherwise very rare Tadpole Shrimp.
Wied il-Mielaħ, known mostly for its geology and it-Tieqa, was designated due to the presence of typical coastal plant communities and its cliffs, which also house important breeding and nesting area of seabirds, particularly the Yelkouan and Scopoli’s Shearwaters.
Wied il-Mielaħ, Gozo
Ħas-Saptan, Birżebbuġa
The boundary of the already established Natura 2000 site l-Għadira s-Safra was extended both landward and seaward.
This new designation incorporates the area which was rehabilitated by ERA in 2017 following the removal of the redundant coast road, as well as the rocky shoal, known as l-Iskoll tal-Għallis, which lies offshore to l-Għadira s-Safra and which is of significant importance to a variety of coastal maritime species and birds.
ERA also issued a Conservation Order and Protection Notice to geological features in the area of Ta’ Lanzun at Tal-Mensija, within the limits of San Ġwann. This area is now listed as a Special Area of Geological Importance and addresses a subsidence structure, known as a doline, similar to the more famous il-Maqluba.
What do you think of the additions of these three areas?
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