Recently, social media erupted with surprise following Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri’s announcement that infrastructural works at the Blue Lagoon were almost complete. These works were controversial.

The trenching of a culvert for services was done without a planning permit in hand. This is illegal and spreading concrete on a dirt road is unnecessary, while potentially setting a precedent.

It was only after the works were flagged on social media and a public outcry followed that the Environment and Resources Authortiy (ERA) eventually intervened. Under their close supervision, works eventually continued without further delays to conclude before summer starts. The ombudsman’s recommendations were rejected. This work has now been concluded.

In a separate development, resurfacing works followed on the quay beneath that road. What had once been a grey, bare concrete platform at the boat pontoon in Blue Lagoon had been smoothed and redone with a pebble brown surface. “This is the beginning of the end of Comino,” some said. Others lamented “the destruction of Blue Lagoon”.

These reactions are to be expected, especially given the increasingly dismal state of our country with overdevelopment and cowboy attitudes from government agencies. However, this intervention was, quite literally, a purely cosmetic one that did not extend beyond existing road and platform footprints. We feel that many people are missing the bigger picture.

Unchecked disturbance from human activities

What is more worrying is the unchecked disturbance from human activities happening on Comino every day. In summer, sunbeds take up every available space across that same platform, thus making simple walking an arduous task.

Kiosks dish out drinks, ridiculously, in plastic cups or scooped out pineapples with plastic straws which are often left littering the area, which, in turn, attracts rodents. These same kiosks are also increasing in number and using the dirt roads around Comino with greater frequency, causing damage to the fragile garigue environment of this Natura 2000 island. 

Boats are increasingly present around Comino, with rubbish being thrown overboard and playing loud music with no concern for the public good. These activities also threaten the nearby seabird colonies in the cliffs.

Campsite concern

The shift of the campsite from the fields behind Santa Marija Bay to the area known as Tal-Ful is welcome. Over the past weeks, the ecological restoration of what was a former wetland behind the sand dunes at Santa Marija bay was commenced, by Ambjent Malta. However, the current state of the new campsite is of concern. Some selfish people have set up what can be described as semi-permanent tents that will, presumably, be there all summer.

Occupants often party long into the night, with recent campers complaining about being unable to sleep due to loud noise and music as late as 5am. This situation is, of course, unbearable and wrong. A serious management plan for camping on Comino is needed urgently.

This brings us to the crux of this article: Comino is in urgent need of increased regulation and enforcement. It is a fragile Natura 2000 site which cannot afford this massive surge of human activity during most months of the year.

While current efforts at ecosystem restoration and afforestation are to be lauded, much more needs to be done.

Comino needs to be assessed in terms of carrying capacity.

Comino needs to be assessed in terms of carrying capacity. How many people should be allowed every day during peak periods? Similarly, camping should be booked, and controlled, so that people cannot effectively squat over public space and turn an area into their own private site in the summer months. Noise needs to be controlled and law-breakers fined, and heavily so.

Kiosks need to be provided with a semi-permanent removable platform for the summer period and not allowed to move from one side of the island to the other. Sunbeds should be limited in number and space allowed for people to move from one area to another with ease.

A waste management plan must be implemented and strictly enforced.

If these suggestions are not followed, we fear that Comino faces a steady and inexorable ecological decline. Should we risk imperilling an excellent experience for a quick buck? Are we truly so short-sighted that we cannot find it in us, as a nation, to take care of our fragile environment, increasingly facing intense human pressures?

The status quo simply cannot go on.

The wanton commercialisation of Comino and the negative impact this leaves on its environment must be reversed. Money cannot be the measure of all things, lest we face the tragedy of the commons (which Malta and, increasingly, Gozo, are being subjected to at an alarming rate). The kiosks and sunbed operators must understand that they too must contribute to the ecological balance required on Comino.

Let us not miss the wood for the trees and urgently demand a carrying-capacity strategy for Comino before it is too late. With an estimated 5,000 people landing on Comino every single day in summer, it is clear that an urgent need for a carrying-capacity limit is called for.

In the same way that other prime sites – such as the Hypogeum – issue strict daily quotas to allow preservation, so should such a plan be applied for Comino.

Comino is still an ecological island worth conserving. Let us not keep it on the path to ruin for the profiteering of the few.

John Paul Cauchi is a medical graduate specialised in environmental public health engaged in issues of health, environment and social well-being.

Steve Zammit Lupi is a Żebbuġ, Malta local councillor and is actively involved in environmental issues.