Hi, I just want to thank Dave Messanger for showing me a remnant area of how Qawra should have looked before being developed. It can be considered as a niche ecological sample of what was present in this area, but of course much disturbed by anthropogenic stresses around.
The area was a hotspot of wild orchids, of which many are legally protected. Amongst these, most conspicuous was the endemic Maltese pyramidical orchid (Anacamptis urvilleana) and the Milky spotted OrchidOrchis conica/lactea.
There were swarms of Ophrys bombyliflora, but alos rosettes of Serapias, Orchis fragrans s.l. and Anacamptyis pyramidalis, as well remains of Orchis collina. Some other interesting plants included Cichorium spinosum and Lathyrus cicera.
I've not performed any detailed survey but just mentioning what I and Dave seen during a cursory walk in a cold and windy morning yesterday.
I sympathise with Dave to raise awarness so as this patch would not be developed too.
A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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- A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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- A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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- A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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- A green patch with numerous wild Orchids in Qawra
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I take the example above as a perfect representation of the farce that is "protection", in both senses, both as being unreasonable and stupid in many instances, and meaningless in others.
Those orchids may well be protected, but as soon as any plans are finalised for that prime site, that rock will be blitzed and the entire site developed. There is no doubt at all that this will happen, it's just a question of when. So you may well be careful where you tread, so as not to damage the plants, but WTF, you may as well treat them to a flamethrower if that is your idea of fun. Zero difference at the end of the day. Probably the largest patch of Autumn grape hyacinth (M. parviflorum) in Malta is (is it still there?) in a prime building site in Ta Xbiex, too. Have not visited for some years, so may already be obliterated by now.
This sort of thing happens on a daily basis somewhere (or more accurately in many places) in Malta and Gozo.
In the meantime I suspect that if one were to transplant these plants to a safer place, one would be breaking the law.
Then you have the FAA up in arms because some non-native ornamental trees planted in a man made environment, purely for the pleasure of man i.e. simply and literally "ornaments" (as their appellation suggests) at the end of the day, and which man by rights has decided that these are no longer suitable as ornaments and hence ought to be removed, while the same FAA has sweet nothing to say about the enormous damage being caused to NATIVE trees and plants in a NATURAL environment hence being habitat to so many species, by phenomenally rampant invasive species such as the Balloon Vine - Cardiospermum halicacabum, which is carpeting entire valleys, and about which absolutely nothing at all is being done.
Our valleys are in many cases becoming nothing but perfect habitat for invasive species.
RB
Those orchids may well be protected, but as soon as any plans are finalised for that prime site, that rock will be blitzed and the entire site developed. There is no doubt at all that this will happen, it's just a question of when. So you may well be careful where you tread, so as not to damage the plants, but WTF, you may as well treat them to a flamethrower if that is your idea of fun. Zero difference at the end of the day. Probably the largest patch of Autumn grape hyacinth (M. parviflorum) in Malta is (is it still there?) in a prime building site in Ta Xbiex, too. Have not visited for some years, so may already be obliterated by now.
This sort of thing happens on a daily basis somewhere (or more accurately in many places) in Malta and Gozo.
In the meantime I suspect that if one were to transplant these plants to a safer place, one would be breaking the law.
Then you have the FAA up in arms because some non-native ornamental trees planted in a man made environment, purely for the pleasure of man i.e. simply and literally "ornaments" (as their appellation suggests) at the end of the day, and which man by rights has decided that these are no longer suitable as ornaments and hence ought to be removed, while the same FAA has sweet nothing to say about the enormous damage being caused to NATIVE trees and plants in a NATURAL environment hence being habitat to so many species, by phenomenally rampant invasive species such as the Balloon Vine - Cardiospermum halicacabum, which is carpeting entire valleys, and about which absolutely nothing at all is being done.
Our valleys are in many cases becoming nothing but perfect habitat for invasive species.
RB
I agree with you in every corner. The environment laws are too much suffocating, imply excessive beurocratic practices and stupid in some cases. They work against the environmentalists themselves because they tend not to break laws, while the developer and those who do not give a shi+ to the environment break the law and do what they like because they know there is minimal law vigilance and close to zero law enforcement, except to extreme cases where there is the spice 'politic advantage' involved, such as the house at Bahrija, JPO's Mistra case, and recently some PL's villa. They also interfere with govermental projects I suppose, who have to apply for permits for the slightest pruning or transplant...
