Plans for Comino nature reserve

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority about a year ago set up a steering committee to formulate and implement plans for the effective protection and management of Comino as a nature reserve.

The committee is made up of representatives of MEPA, the Malta Maritime Authority, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Ministry for Gozo, Ghajnsielem Council, local stakeholders and the environmental NGOs Nature Trust (Malta), Bird life Malta and Din l-Art Helwa.

Nature Trust president Vincent Attard told The Sunday Times that together with the other participants, they have been very active on the committee and fully supported the work being done, as this shows MEPA's and other local authorities' commitment towards safeguarding yet another ecologically important site. Nature Trust feels that only by working closely with such authorities can the best results in the field of nature conservation be achieved, he said.

The work being done by the steering committee has already involved detailed surveys and baseline studies being used for the drawing up of management plans for Comino. Mr Attard said these surveys have covered the island's ecology, geology and geomorphology, hydrology, landscape, cultural heritage, archaeology, land use, land ownership, existing development permits, existing infrastructure, the marine environment and the compilation of miscellaneous information (especially on public works carried out in the past) from fragmentary sources.

The committee's main focus is to improve all-round environmental conservation and in this regard, various key action areas have been identified and are being followed up. These include: protection of the island's biodiversity and habitats, the management of coastal areas, the minimisation of building (and other) development, the removal of the existing pig farm, the rationalisation of the existing infrastructure, and mitigation of impacts of infrastructural development.

The strategy also addresses cultural heritage conservation, the restoration and utilisation of vacant historic buildings and the management of public convenience facilities, the establishment of natural/cultural heritage trail aimed at eco-visitors, the minimisation of light and noise pollution, the establishment of environmental warden service and the effective management of on-location events (e.g. filming in scenic areas).

"One of the major stumbling blocks for a successful conservation project is funding and resource allocation. To this regard NTM is trying to secure EU funding through environment conservation instruments, in the near future with the hope that all the valuable work carried out by the Comino steering committee can be implemented to the full," he added.