The oil pollution caused by vandals at Ghadira Natura reserve is worse than initially thought, BirdLife Malta said yesterday.

Large sections of the ditches surrounding the south part of the reserve were also filled with thick oil, suggesting that significantly more oil had been poured into the reserve than originally thought, BirdLife Malta Conservation Manager Andre Raine said

“The reed-filled ditches are so thick with oil that the surrounding air reeks with nauseating fumes. The quantities of oil in the ditches, as well as large numbers of bottle caps lying around the perimeter of the reserve, suggest that the initial estimate of 10 gallons used in the attack was very much an underestimated,” Dr.Raine explained.

The newly discovered evidence shows that vandals struck from at least four different points around the reserve.

In a statement, BirdLife said it believes that they climbed over fences to pour oil into the surrounding ditches and threw oil-filled bottles far out into the ponds and reservoir.

This shows that the vandalism was much more than just a simple act involving a couple of people throwing a few bottles over the fence. There was obviously a serious level of forethought and planning involved, with oil being poured into strategic locations where it would cause the most damage to the fragile ecosystem, BirdLife stated.

BirdLife contacted the Ministry of Environment and the rapid response team that operates under the Ministry of Tourism requesting manpower and technical assistance to clean up the reserve before toxic chemicals spread and accumulate in the sediment.

Due to lack of human resources, the rapid response team could only provide “oil towels” to “mop up the spill” and no man power.

The oil, particularly because much of it hadn’t been cleared up after four days, has had plenty of time to get into the wetland ecosystem, with toxic chemicals spreading into the water as well as sinking into the sediment. This will result in mass die-offs of amphibians and invertebrates. It will also have potential long-term ramifications by getting into the wetland ecosystem, with toxic chemicals concentrating at each successive level along the food chain. This could have serious impacts on migrant birds that use the reserve to feed on invertebrates dwelling in the sediment as well as many of the breeding species.

Executive Director of BirdLife Malta Tolga Temuge said, “In view of the recent vandalism close to the Qrendi temples and keeping in mind the statements that were posted on the FKNK website forum last January promoting violence and vandalism, the culprits of the recent attack on the Ghadira nature reserve are not hard to determine. We therefore expect the government to increase security measures around the Ghadira and Is-Simar nature reserves.”