New Kappara road to obliterate more than 300 trees

Between 341 and 353 trees in the protected Wied Ghollieq will be destroyed to accommodate the new Kappara junction if any one of the two options currently being considered is approved by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. 

The part of the valley earmarked for the road project hosts a rare fungus, which in Europe is only found in Malta, an Environment Impact Study reveals.

Transport Malta has already signaled its preference for the Option B, which is more environmentally taxing  and would destroy 8,800 square metres of land in the protected valley (1,750 square metres more than Option A).

Coupled with the concurrent development of an 1,800 square metre reservoir, more than 10,000 square meters of the valley could be lost.

Transport Malta is justifying the project on safety grounds.

This would mean that 9% of the Wied Ghollieq valley would be lost to the road and reservoir projects.

This impact is further accentuated by the fact that the development cannot be compensated by expanding the valley as Wied Għollieqa is completely surrounded by urban development.

Both options considered will lead to a negative ecological impact but option B is expected to have a much higher impact than option A.

The main disadvantage of the more environmentally-friendly option is that the upper tier of the road would be virtually at eye-level with the villas and apartments to the west and east of Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli respectively.

Option A is composed of two levels designed to provide better safety levels and an increased capacity for future traffic flows.

The north-to-south and south-to-north movements along Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli will take place on the upper fully grade separated road, while all other movements would involve the use of a roundabout at the lower level.

Option B involves the replacement of the existing Kappara roundabout by a signalised priority junction (to the west of the junction) and a roundabout junction (to the east of the junction) which would be linked by an overpass over Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli.

These junctions would be situated in Triq tas-Sliema - one to the east and the other to the west of Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli.

Both option A and option B entail the destruction of 14 carob trees, five Cypress trees, nine fig trees and 230 oleanders. Option B will involve the destruction of five olive trees while option A will result in the elimination of three.

Many mature trees in Wied Għollieqa which are at risk of being removed are aged over 10 years, and many are over a hundred years old. The study suggests that if the project is given to go-ahead, 40 to 50 indigenous trees should be planted per individual protected tree removed, depending on their age.

The ecological survey conducted by expert Edwin Lanfranco and Mark Zammit reveals that the strictly protected tree species which are potentially prone to be lost include naturally occurring Rhamnus oleioides (Olive-leaved Buckthorn) and the artificially planted Tetraclinis articulata (Sandarac Gum Tree) and Quercus ilex (Evergreen Oak).

Other species of national interest, which would be affected are the caper rosemary trees whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures.

The footprints of both Option A and Option B are made up of land in Wied Għollieqa that is currently undeveloped. Lanfranco and Zammit point out in their Ecology study that Option A entail a loss of 7,150m2 of land from Wied Għollieqa, and Option B, 8,800m2. This loss would be additional to the 1,800m2 of Wied Għollieqa that are being excavated for the soak-away reservoir.

According to the experts the project which will directly impact on the carob trees, which are the main reason why the valley was scheduled, in the first place is likely to reduce the integrity of Wied Għollieqa designation as a Special Area of Conservation of national importance.

They also warn that this could increase the likelihood of future developments on the impoverished valley.

The loss of carob trees will also directly lead to the reduction of fungi populations in the area, since most of the fungi are mainly associated with these trees. The survey findings of the current study also indicated that the largest density of fungi was observed within the footprint of the scheme, including Inonotus indicus, which only grows which within Europe only grows in Malta. The fungus grows from the roots or base of the trunks of carob trees.

Wied Għollieqa boasts a rich variety of fungi, a factor which has partly contributed to the protected status of this valley. In fact, Briffa and Lanfranco (1986) describe the valley as being one of the three richest stations for mycoflora in the Maltese islands.

According to the authors of the study, the possibility of mitigation is very limited.

The only possibility of minimising the impact is by reducing the footprint or redesigning of the scheme in order not to impinge on carob and olive maquis and the watercourse.