The Malta Tourism Authority, Nature Trust Malta and the Pembroke local council have teamed up to raise awareness about – and attract visitors to – the Pembroke Natura 2000 site.

As part of the Pembroke Heritage Project, a number of publications – a map of the area, a visitors’ guide, a booklet on the area’s biodiversity and heritage and booklets specifically aimed at primary schoolchildren have been launched this morning.

A day of activities will be held by the Madliena Tower next Sunday.

Most of Pembroke’s coastal area is part of the EU’s Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The site comprises one of the few remaining areas of karstland on the eastern coast of the island of Malta, and boasts a number of endemic plant species, various types wild orchids and plants which are unseen elsewhere in the country.

The Natura 2000 site also includes military structures, of which the oldest is Madliena Tower, a watchtower built by Grandmaster De Redin in 1658 which was slightly modified in the 19th century to mount a 64-pound rifled muzzle loading gun. A nearby fougasse – an improvised mine which essentially consists of a hole in the ground which would have been filled with black powder and rocks – also survives to this day.

Much of the site, which covers roughly half of Pembroke, had been transformed into shooting ranges under British rule. Two rifle ranges are still utilised by the Armed Forces of Malta – although the area is open to the public unless red flags indicating military exercises are being carried out are flying – while the others have largely remained undeveloped, although one now hosts a reverse osmosis water desalination plant.

Little attention had been paid to the area until recently, and Madliena Tower had fallen into neglect. However, the tower has been restored in recent years, and a 2.5km walking/cycling trail – which has largely made use of existing pathways – links the recently-opened Pembroke Garden, close to the hotels beside St George’s Bay, to the Madliena Tower.

The publications launched today aim to encourage visitors – tourists and locals alike – to flock to the site.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis noted that there were three aspects to the Pembroke Heritage Project, including an educational one. He observed that there was a need to ensure that Maltese children are aware and proud of the country’s rich heritage.

The other two aims of the project, the minister explained, was improving Malta’s tourism product as a whole as well as promoting niche tourism, by increasing opportunities for outdoors activity.