On Sunday 2 September, Pope Benedict urged us to take care of our natural environment and “to reverse tendencies that risk leading to irreversible situations of degradation”.

However, the construction of a new cemetery in Nadur, which threatens to contaminate the natural water springs that irrigate our crops, plainly contradicts the Pontiff’s proclamation stressing the protection of “nature’s delicate equilibriums”.

Despite repeated appeals to the Bishop of Gozo and the Archpriest of Nadur in this regard, our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

We, the 12 undersigned farmers, therefore welcome AD’s recent suggestion that the Gozo Diocese establish its own Environmental Commission, similar to the one in Malta.

Joseph Portelli, Joseph Camilleri, Paul Said, Emanuel Portelli, Joseph Camilleri, Michael Cassar, Emanuel Muscat, Joseph Grech, Rita Muscat, John Azzopardi, Saver Grech, Martin Camilleri

GOZO