Concern over quarry's effect on sensitive site

Nature Trust Malta, the environmental NGO, said it was seriously concerned over the state of Moqbol Valley and the adjacent cliffs.

Moqbol Valley lies in the limits of Hal Far with vegetation that includes one of the islands' rare trees as well as endemic and other uncommon species. The neighbouring cliffs are important bird nesting sites, the NGO said.

The zone is protected as a special area of conservation of international importance and scheduled for its ecological importance and as a tree reserve. It is also a candidate site in Natura 2000, the EU scheme for nature protection.

Nature Trust said its members have reported signage that bar access to rural paths and to the coast, a myriad of new and old trapping sites, barbed wire and an overflowing rubbish dump.

Parts of the cliff have crumbled away under the impact of the quarry in the area and one can no longer walk along the coast, the NGO said. A thick layer of dust from the quarry envelopes most of this sensitive site.

Other members have reported that numerous trapping cages have been placed right on the archaeological remains in the valley.

Nature Trust said it has received many complaints about the fact that vibrations from the quarry may be causing structural damage to buildings as far away as Hal Far and Benghajsa, where strong tremors are felt regularly throughout the day.

The NGO has asked the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to investigate whether such blasting and quarrying activities are having repercussions on nearby cliffs and caves (considering for instance that both Ghar Hasan and Moqbol cliffs collapsed within a relatively short span of time).

Nature Trust said it was urging Mepa to refuse an application for the extension of the quarry and to ensure that either works are carried out in accordance with environmentally sound practices or to issue a stop notice until the damage is assessed and remedied.