The messages issued by organisations welcoming the decision to abort the golf course proposal for Xaghra l-Hamra at Ghajn Tuffieha and instead have a nature and history park five times the size of Valletta were deafening, contrary to the silence of the tourism industry.
The industry has argued that the Maltese product needs to be improved and a golf course would prove an ideal facility for a lucrative niche market. It had convinced the Prime Minister on this, and Lawrence Gonzi entered the fray by suggesting the Xaghra l-Hamra as a suitable site, thereby opening a can of worms that have finally had their day with the decision announced by Dr Gonzi last Saturday that the Xaghra l-Hamra would not be turned into a golf course after all but will become a nature and history park.
Dr Gonzi did his best to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, saying this was further proof of the government’s “green credentials”.
It is likely that any golf course proposal will meet the same opposition as that for Xaghra l-Hamra. Two which have already been touted are Pembroke and Ta’ Cenc in Gozo – environmentalists have already been vociferous against that kind of development at either site.
It is a long-drawn-out saga, that to find somewhere to build a golf course, apart from the one there is at Marsa, where golfers can hardly enjoy what they like – quiet nature. A well-known businessman, Anglu Xuereb, had bought the Grand Hotel Verdala in Rabat for the purpose. But his proposed development of a golf course there was also shot down.
There can hardly be any site anywhere in the Maltese islands which would be acceptable for a golf course. Maybe now the suggestion by readers writing in the press to reclaim a part of the sea, creating room for a golf course by dumping construction industry debris, will be taken up. Though that, too, will likely meet with opposition.
The nature park decision was announced on Saturday, and among the first to welcome the decision were BirdLife Malta, the Ramblers Association of Malta, the Gaia Foundation, the Ghajn Tuffieha Rural Protection Committee, the Archbishop’s Curia and the Moviment Graffitti.
Malta Labour Party
The Labour Party said that while it considered the nature park decision as “very positive”, there was no doubt that this was another one of the Nationalist Party’s u-turns with regard to environmental policy.
In a statement issued by Joe Brincat and Roderick Galdes, Labour spokespersons for the environment and national heritage, they said the Labour Party was among the many organisations that had opposed the proposed golf course development from the start.
Dr Brincat and Mr Galdes said the PN had come up with this proposal, even if no technical recommendation for the development of a golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra ever existed.
It appears that now, a few months before the general election, the Nationalist government found it easy to hide the studies that showed that the development of a golf course in the area could never be sustainable, said the Labour spokespersons.
The Nationalist government has wasted thousands of liri by commissioning such studies, when it was immediately evident that the proposal for that area was unsustainable, they said, adding that Dr Gonzi’s government had ordered the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to work on the proposals, despite advice he received not to carry on with the project, and this showed the government’s lack of planning and direction in this regard. They said they hoped for the successful development and management of the nature park and that this would be possible with the collaboration of all the environment NGOs and the local councils, particularly the Mellieha council.
Alternattiva Demokratika
– The Green Party
Alternattiva Demokratika also welcomed the “government’s u-turn” on Xaghra l-Hamra and called it a victory for all civil society and for all those who voted in favour of Malta’s EU membership.
“Now that the Prime Minster and the Environment Minister listened to and finally accepted all warnings by local environmental organisations and the European environmental law that the Xaghra l-Hamra natural landscape is to be preserved for future generations and not turned into a golf course, AD’s Gozo Regional Committee expects the same verdict on Ta’ Cenc but without further delay,” it added.
“The government finally seems to understand that golf courses would not solve tourism problems in Gozo and Malta. We call upon the Labour Party to change its views towards promoting a golf course at Ta’ Cenc,” said Victor Galea, AD Gozo spokesperson and general secretary of Alternattiva Demokratika.
Environment Commission, Archbishop’s Curia
The Environment Commis-sion of the Archbishop’s Curia said that bold choices such as the nature and heritage park decision were steps in the right direction towards sustainable development, particularly for the tourism industry.
Such decisions bore witness to the fact that solutions based on the principles of sustainable development led to win-win situations for the common good.
Ramblers Association of Malta
The Ramblers Association of Malta also welcomed the “long-awaited decision”. The association expressed its satisfaction that Dr Gonzi has reconsidered his wrong perception that the area was wasteland and that he is now correctly referring to the site as an “ecological jewel”.
BirdLife Malta
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Environment Minister George Pullicino, BirdLife Malta said it “hopes that this heralds a new era of political decisions in which appropriate importance is given to the natural environment for the benefit of the common good of our country and its future generations.”
Gaia Foundation
The Gaia Foundation said the island’s northwestern coastal zone was extremely valuable, not only for its heritage, but also for its potential for sustainable tourism.
The organisation welcomed the invitation to involve other environment management NGOs in the project and said that it looked forward to being part of the management of the site.
Ghajn Tuffieha enjoys the highest levels of nature protection and formed part of the first NGO Life project, which was managed by the foundation.
Ghajn Tuffieha Rural Protection Committee
The Ghajn Tuffieha Rural Protection Committee said that a golf course in that area would have had a negative impact on a large number of farmers and residents.
It added that a nature park along the northwestern coast of the island was much more compatible with the natural, socio-economic and cultural environment of the area.
The committee expressed a wish to be consulted during the planning phase of the project.
Moviment Graffitti
In yet another statement yesterday, Moviment Graffitti said the heritage park decision was a “victory for all those who have the natural environment at heart.”