The Malta Ranger Unit has described Gozo as “thriving with environmental crimes” in a social media post highlighting a lack of law enforcement on the island.

Pointing out that Gozo remains without an environmental protection unit (EPU), the NGO said on Facebook that the lack of police presence “means environmental criminals enjoy 100% impunity.”

The Malta Ranger Unit (MRU) said it was regularly travelling to the island to monitor environmental crimes and this weekend had dispatched a “full team” to monitor illegal construction on the island.

Stressing that the statistics for environmental illegalities in Gozo didn't reflect the reality on the ground, the NGO said it would be requesting a meeting with Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri on the issue.

The MRU is a voluntary organisation which monitors environmental crimes across the country. Its officers regularly patrol in both Malta and Gozo both in uniform and undercover and it also offers advice to the public through a 24-hour helpline. 

Speaking to Times of Malta, a spokesperson for the organisation said many of the suspected illegal constructions it saw in Gozo started out as small sheds but would often grow to include more rooms and even an extra floor.

Commenting on the low numbers of reported illegalities seen in official statistics, the spokesperson said the figures didn’t make sense.

“We go from illegality to illegality to illegality, so it cannot be a place where these things aren’t happening,” she said, pointing to the low figures of hunting-related offences seen in official reports.

According to a report from Gozo’s Wild Birds Regulation Unit, there were no offences detected during last year’s Spring hunting season.

No offences were recorded during the Spring hunting season last year. Table: 'Report on the Outcome of the 2023 Spring Hunting Season in Malta', Gozo Ministry.

Describing the island as “very hard to enforce,” she said MRU had been informed that some Gozo residents were afraid to speak out for fear of retribution owing to them often living in small communities on the island.

However, the spokesperson stressed that the organisation was “seeing a big change in mentality,” with increasing numbers of the public approaching the group for advice about how to minimise their impact while engaging in outdoor activities such as camping.

She emphasised the group’s call for greater enforcement and for a police environmental unit to be based in Gozo.

In September, fellow conservation NGO BirdLife Malta said the number of police officers monitoring the autumn hunting season had been reduced while illegalities were "revving up".

Echoing MRU concerns, the group called environmental units in Gozo “non-existent, with most of the police force expected to be taken up with school traffic during morning hours."

The Malta Ranger Unit can be reached on +356 7937 8118. For more information, visit their Facebook page.