Dear Members,  

As part of our effort to recognise your support of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) and environmental protection in general, we setting up a system by which registered FAA members will benefit from Opening Night previews of some of the best art exhibitions being held in Malta, as well as significant discounts at environment courses which may interest you. 

We are happy to announce the first of these with this newsletter: an outstanding art exhibition of works by the artist C.S. Lawrence to be opened this Saturday the 3^rd May at the Sinclair Stevenson Gallery in Gharb Gozo.  Caroline Said Lawrence has returned to her Maltese roots with a breath-taking set of Gozitan landscapes, as well as her signature figurative work which blends her contemporary and highly original style together with the exotic influences she has absorbed in her globe-trotting past. The exhibition will be opened by the American Ambassador and is an event not to be missed.  As many of you will be in Gozo for the long weekend, you are cordially invited to attend (invitation below) only please confirm your attendance by emailing contact@ambjentahjar.org  or messaging on 99846088.

As regards courses, the Institute for Environmental Studies has very kindly offered our members a generous discount on their upcoming course titled 'Basic Marine Biology II' to be held on the 12^th-19^th May 2008. The course will include detailed coverage of aspects of biogeography of the Mediterranean Sea, marine biodiversity and human impacts on coastal management in order to enhance participants’ knowledge of marine life and habitats and will include diving sessions for those qualified in diving (for further details see below).  The course fee is € 175 but a discounted rate of € 150 is being offered to FAA members who may apply by writing to contact@ambjentahjar.org, closing date Friday 2^nd May.

Our training sessions on MEPA have now extended to an introductory course to be held in Gozo, always with the kind support of the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs. Attached below you will find our latest press release regarding another damaging development project in the pipeline at Mellieha Bay, while on a more cheerful note, we leave you with the news of a new shop which has just opened on St. George’s Square, Victoria Gozo, offering organic and ethical trading products.

Best regards to all,

The FAA Committee

Click here to download the map of Gharb for directions 

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2, St. Mary Street,

B’KARA 

ANOTHER DAMAGING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE PIPLINE

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) regrets to note that another highly damaging development project has been requested that clearly violates Outside Development Zone (ODZ) regulations.  The Mellieha Bay Hotel, owned by Albert Mizzi’s family company, has applied for the construction of 98 bungalows on the Mellieha ridge, which, if permitted would be another serious blow to the Maltese Natural Environment.   

The proposed project is located around the hotel but Outside the Development Zone, in a protected coastal zone of natural beauty, designated as a buffer zone to protect the coastal cliffs and an Area of Ecological Importance and Site of Scientific Importance. Furthermore, the area lies between two proposed Sites of Community Interest, as declared by Government Notice 112 of 2007, and is proposed as part of the Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of International Importance, and Special Protection Area, besides being scheduled. The site is mainly made up of protected garigue and also includes protected trees.

This same speculator of land has been responsible for the negative changes that have taken place at Santa Maria Estate as well as the over-development and environmental damage at Tigne, FAA cannot but be concerned at the project which will eliminate one of the few remaining pristine sites.  

MEPA’s regulations stipulate that : No form of urban development will be permitted outside existing and committed built-up areas. Exceptions to this rule are restricted to farming and countryside recreation developments with due caution.   

A project of these dimensions should not be considered before a holistic study (SEA) is carried out to assess the tourism needs for this type of accommodation and if such a need is required, where it can best be located in order to avoid the destruction of the Mellieha headland. This especially in the light of the fact that the granting of a permit for these 98 units will invariably lead to further development all along this coast. 

FAA would like to publicly appeal to the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, the new Minister responsible for the Environment, to carry through the much-needed reform of MEPA regulations with urgency, and especially to legislate the principle that applications which violate ODZ regulations and are clearly inappropriate for our countryside are immediately dismissed.  The processing of such applications is a huge waste of MEPA’s time and the taxpayer’s money and also opens the door for other such applications to slip through. 

The NGO reminds MEPA and the Government that the protection of Malta’s landscape is enshrined in the Constitution, therefore approval of such a project would violate not just MEPA regulations but also Malta’s Constitution. 

25.04.08