Overdevelopment, the natural environment, biodiversity, green-scaping and greening Malta; these are all topics which, of late, are constantly coming up in conversations and national fora.

The public is concerned with the rate with which public and private infrastructure is being developed, with the constant loss of agricultural or otherwise undeveloped land, with new skylines taking shape in our urban centres as well as the decreasing number of public green spaces.   

And with these concerns, a movement driven by both NGOs and the public is growing, calling for more green spaces and less but more controlled development. And this growing pressure from the public, spearheaded by NGOs, has led to some action from the authorities, mainly in the form of urban green-scaping projects as well as a focus on rehabilitating disturbed land, such as the recent opening of Wied Fulija as a green open space, rehabilitated from a dumping ground.

The Ministry for the Environment through Ambjent Malta has also taken a keen interest in afforestation projects, planting trees in several Natura 2000 sites such as Majjistral Park. The focus of afforestation has also been adopted by ERA, with a massive afforestation project currently underway on Comino.

However, safeguarding our natural heritage is not as straightforward as planting a few trees. Most afforestation projects are usually accompanied by the justification that such projects ‘green Malta’ and ‘improve biodiversity’.

The brutal reality is this would only be the case if we had forest ecosystems in Malta which would accelerate the naturalisation of newly afforested sites. The closest thing we have to such a unique habitat is Il-Buskett, which, in truth, is only semi-natural, having been planted by the Knights around the 16th century.

And while it is a unique ecosystem in its own right with several species only found there in the Maltese islands, the reality is that our other afforested areas, which are far more recent (1960s – present), are a far cry from the biodiversity of Il-Buskett. Eventually, these more recent afforestations will reach a biodiversity and ecological significance on par with Il-Buskett but this will take hundreds of years considering that these are isolated from Il-Buskett.

Afforestation is important for improving our natural environment but it is a long-term investment- Justin Cauchi

So, is afforestation not worthwhile? Far from it. It is important for improving our natural environment but it is a long-term investment. And while there is no urgency to rehabilitate disused sites (quarries or dumping sites) and abandoned agricultural land, there is a great urgency in protecting our already established ecosystems which are in dire need of active management.

These established ecosystems include terrestrial habitats such as garigues, steppes, sand dunes, wetlands, cliffs as well as the numerous marine ecosystems and habitats which make our country one of the best places to scuba dive in the world. These ecosystems are already established, have a much higher biodiversity than a few newly planted trees can provide and are completely disregarded. Without proper management, these habitats will continue to degrade. Planting a few signs will not stop people from trampling on and damaging these important sites. A case in point is Majjistral Park, which is one of the few nature reserves with rangers actively patrolling. While frequent patrolling has been successful in decreasing damaging activities, people are still disregarding signs, littering, lighting fires and entering with vehicles.

Now imagine what a sign alone at Ramla l-Ħamra or Dwejra will achieve in comparison. Time and time again has shown that educational campaigns have barely made a dent in improving public integrity when it comes to the environment; so enforcement, fines and continuous monitoring are the only hope for preventing damaging actions at such sites.

And a similar issue with urban greening. While needed and important in our fight against climate change and for our own mental well-being, like afforestation, this is not strictly speaking urgent and can be carried out at any time.

So, in the opinion of a biologist, we are on the right track. Urban greening and afforestation and rehabilitation of disused, disturbed land is essential. But preservation, conservation and active management of our remaining, natural A greenwashing minefieldhabitats is paramount and should take priority over these projects.