Updated 10.30am with video, Moviment Graffitti statement

A deckchair operator in Comino has set up shop near protected garigue and without a permit, photos sent to Times of Malta show.

The new site has popped up as the summer season starts and a year on from activists descending on the island to protest deckchairs and umbrellas encroaching on public space.

Environmental NGOs have raised concerns about the impact on the island – a special area of conversation – but Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has defended the site and the environment watchdog has remained silent.

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola was first to note the “new umbrella area” and pictures show deckchairs and umbrellas for hire on ground interspersed with protected garigue.

Birdlife Malta’s head of conservation, Nicholas Barbara told Times of Malta that the area in question, like most of Comino, is a bird sanctuary, a special protection area as well as a special area of conservation (Natura 2000).

The NGO reported the relocation near the protected garigue to the Planning Authority (PA), ERA and the Malta Tourism Authority. The PA was the only entity to reply, stating the matter does not concern them as it is not an “illegal development”.

Barbara said the placement of sunbeds on coastal garigue habitat is detrimental, both through the placement of the actual deckchairs and also by having people trampling around the area.

“Such habitats feature shrubs and plants which take decades to grow, and there is no doubt that the placing of deckchairs in the area is deteriorating the habitat,” he said. 

The Environment watchdog has remained silent amid protests from NGOs about the proximity to protected garigue. Photo: Supplied to Times of Malta

He said ERA usually vets all activities held on Comino or any other Natura 2000 site and would intervene in time if an activity is of a detriment to the site.

'Sunbed operator seems immune'

“Camping on Comino cannot be allowed anywhere except at a designated site, and they’ve (ERA) actually intervened in removing illegal camping. Somehow, for some reason, this sunbed operator seems immune to all this.”

Barbara’s comments were echoed by a Nature Trust representative, who said that the relocation of the deckchairs will not only encourage further trampling on rare flora and fauna but also littering, which attract rats that attack local biodiversity.

Both NGOs highlighted that no permits were issued for the deckchairs.

Moviment Graffitti, who previously staged a protest and removed deckchairs from another part of the island, said the government had promised the situation in Comino was due to change. 

"It is unacceptable that, year after year, the public authorities remain subservient towards business interests, accepting the destruction of natural habitat on public land. We are holding the Minister for the Environment, Miriam Dalli, responsible for her complicity in the destruction of our natural environment," it said. 

It said that if the authorities do nothing, "the public will be forced to intervene". 

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has, however, defended the site, insisting that while the area is protected by the Environment and Resources Authority, the umbrellas and deckchairs are not being placed on the protected garigue.

“Yes, some of that area is protected, and that is why we are making sure the garigue is protected and that no umbrellas or deckchairs are placed on them, but are placed on the rocks,” he said.

Vendor 'will not be in the way'

Bartolo confirmed that a deckchair area previously located near the landing areas for boats visiting the Blue Lagoon had been relocated to the new area.

“That means that the jetty area is clear and open for use by the public,” Bartolo said.

“One of the vendors has been relocated to a zone further up, where he will not be in the way of people who want to walk along Comino, and as much as possible have as little environmental impact, that is why they are placed on the rocks.”

He said that the application process is currently “ongoing” and that the process is not handled by the minister.

A spokesperson later confirmed that the transfer of the vendor from the jetty to the new area is ongoing and only a “technical matter” is left to be resolved.

Questions sent to Environment and Resource Authority remain unanswered at the time of going to print. In a brochure it produced about garigue, ERA described garigue as “of great importance not only to biodiversity, but also to ecosystem services”.

The tourism minister said last month that the Blue Lagoon will have 65 per cent fewer sunbeds and umbrellas this summer.

“We want to give this space back to the public. We could not continue to have a situation where the quay was occupied by sunbeds and people were not able to access the bay, not to mention the issue of cleanliness,” he previously said.