Updated with ERA statement at 6.41pm

A proposal to deploy rangers to patrol Malta’s woodlands and valleys and beef up enforcement of environmental laws is being explored by the government.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri referred to the plan in parliament on Monday in response to a question by Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar.

Cutajar wanted to know whether the government would be taking on the Opposition's proposal made two years ago as part of the local councils reform, to have rangers patrol l-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa which was partially burned early on Sunday morning in a fire.

Around 450 trees affected

According to the Environment Resources Authority, around 450 protected trees were impacted, some of which were completely destroyed. These consisted mostly of pines but also cypress, carobs and lentisk trees. Moreover, two sizeable areas of garigue were burnt.

Though the affected zone falls outside of the special conservation area it is still considered as an area of ecological importance, ERA noted.

The environmental watchdog urged the public to exercise caution in open natural spaces, especially in the summer months where the dry weather increases the risk of fires.

Fire being linked to illegal camp activity

Preliminary investigations suggest the fire was started by some campers at the site. The campers were there illegally, as the Mellieħa council has suspended camping permits since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following a search in the area, the police found a mobile phone and contacted its owner, a 33-year-old man from Floriana. It transpired that the man was camping on the site where the fire started with a 29-year-old woman from Paola and a 29-year-old man from Safi.

Rangers being considered 

Speaking during question time, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri noted that the fire spread rapidly due to the strong winds and said it was only thanks to the efforts of the Civil Protection Department that no more woodland was permanently lost.

The minister's statement that the government is considering environmental rangers came just as NGO Nature Trust made a similar plea in a statement, after hunters said they had filmed vandals hacking down protecting trees to use as wood for a barbecue. 

Apart from fires, there have also been regular complaints about illegal dumping and littering offences.

In June last year, around one-quarter of Miżieb, also in the limits of Mellieħa, was razed to the ground in a huge fire which took several days to extinguish. An estimated 180,000 square metres of woodland were destroyed mostly Aleppo Pine, invasive Olive Trees, Gum Trees, and Blue-leaved wattle, - an invasive species known locally as l-Akaċja.

The ERA and AmbjentMALTA, a state agency responsible for public parks, will now be drawing up a management plan for the area, which will incorporate passages, more rubble walls and indigenous trees that are more resistant to fire.

Both Miżieb and Aħrax are manmade woodlands which date back to afforestation projects in the 1960s