MEPA report paves way for Portomaso lagoon development

A report by MEPA's Environment Protection Directorate, led by former Din l-Art Helwa President Petra Bianchi, states that there are "no overriding ecological reasons" to protect one of the last two green enclaves in Spinola's headland.

This could pave the way for the approval of the latest Portomaso development consisting of 46 two-storey villas set on a lagoon on a site designated as a "southern ecological zone" in the original Environmental Impact Study of the Portomaso project in 1995, mainly due to the presence of two rare plants, one of which has disappeared from the site.

The area earmarked for development is located adjacent to the southern block of the Portomaso complex between Spinola road, the edge of the marina and the foreshore.

One of the permit conditions for the Portomaso permit was the conservation of this area.

In 1996, amid protests against the original permit, the developers enclosed this area with a fence on which a notice said: "As part of the Hilton site redevelopment project, the site within this wall is being sealed off for the protection of important ecological species during project construction and will be reopened to the public."

In its report the EPD does express its concerns "about the removal of mitigation measures imposed in previous permit conditions". The report also deems the encroachment on part of the coastline as "undesirable".

But according to the Directorate, "experience has confirmed the ineffectiveness and poor long-term viability of such ecological islands detached from their former environmental context, as is also demonstrated in this instance".

The area is one of the two remnant "green" areas within the Spinola headland (the other being the Il-Qaliet wetland) but an update of the 1995 Environment Impact Assessment carried out by ADI consultancy last year states that site was covered by rubble in the 1960s and its ecological importance is very low.

The report by the EPD acknowledges that this "green" zone as well as part of the coastal zone will be lost in their entirety as a result of the proposed development.

But according to the EPD this "southern ecological zone" was never formally scheduled by MEPA although its conservation was one of the conditions imposed in the original MEPA permit for Portomaso.

It also notes that the area was proposed as an "ecological zone", mainly due to the presence of Sphenopus divaricatus (Wedgefoot grass) - which has mysteriously disappeared from this location - and Anthemis urvilleana (Maltese Sea Chamomile) which still is still found on the site.

According to studies, the last time that the Wedgefoot grass was recorded on site was in 1999.  An update to the original EIA attributed the disappearance of species to the fact that the fact that the Wedgefoot grass is not considered a competitive species due to competition by ruderal plants.

But architect Paul Gauci who is representing the concerns of residents objecting to the development has raised pertinent questions on the disappearance of the plant. "Could the failure of Sphenopus divaricatus to survive the assault of the more aggressive ruderal species have been a consequence of the improper management or neglect of the Special Ecological Zone? Were the provisions of the law applied in the case of the protected SEZ? If yes, what has really happened in this area? If not, why?"

The EIS update report did not exclude that seeds of Wedgefoot grass may still be present in the soil.  The EPD agreed with the recommendation of the EIS update that the topsoil in the area should be collected separately for the germination of any surviving seeds in more suitable locations.

But Gauci asks: "Why is it proposed to attempt the revival of any seeds which may be present in the soil on another site and not in the same place?"

The EPD notes that the "southern ecological zone" was intended as an ecological conservation measure in the late 1990s. "However, in the EPD's opinion such isolated and restricted enclaves which are tightly enclosed by development are hardly appropriate to address ecological conservation issues".

It also decreed that there is no overriding ecological purpose for the retention of this so-called "ecological zone".

The zone has been designated for residential development in the local plan issued by former Planning Minister George Pullicino in May 2006, but the legality of this designation is questioned by residents and by Alternattiva Demokratika as changes to it were made without public consultation and contradict the conditions set in the original Portomaso permit.