All of Ta' Cenc 'should be protected'

Eko-Logika, a newly formed coalition of civil society groups, said the entire Ta' Cenc area should be declared a Natura 2000 site and join the list of European protected sites.

Eko-Logika, which consists of Alternattiva Demokratika, AD's Gozo Regional Committee, Fondazzjoni Ceratonia, Moviment Graffitti, Inizjamed, Dripht, Zminijietna Lehen ix-Xellug, Third World Group and the Sannat Residents Association said:

"Eko-Logika is encouraged by the communication between the Ta' Cenc land owner and AD-Gozo following last Saturday's disrupted nature walk organised by the Ceratonia Foundation.

"Hotel owner Victor Borg is reported to have told the AD Gozo spokesman that he does not have any intention to build a golf course on the expanse of garigue and terraced fields next to the hotel.

"We hope that Ta' Cenc will also be spared other forms of unsustainable development such as the construction of buildings on the garigue and terraced fields."

Eko-Logika said it also supported the call made by NGOs for the whole scenic site to be scheduled due to its rich natural and cultural heritage.

"Official protection of the cliff face as an important bird area, which was granted one day before the walk (on Saturday, against a proposed golf course on the site), is a good start but is definitely not enough if the environment at Ta' Cenc is to be protected," it said.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority said on Friday that the area of the cliffs from Tad-Debda and Ta' Cenc (Sannat) up to the area of Ta' l-Ikbiex qualified as a Level 1 site of scientific importance because it harbours a concentration of threatened bird species such as Cory's shearwater, Yelkouan shearwater and the European storm petrel.