The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) is set to decide whether to grant Hili Group permission to remove some 800 trees from the Comino nature reserve, as well as issue the go-ahead required for the commencement of construction works, the NGO Moviment Graffitti warned on Wednesday.
The decision is set to be taken on Friday.
In a statement later, HV Hospitality, the company behind the project on Comino, said that the claim that 800 trees may be removed is inaccurate, and that there are around 600 native or protected trees on the site - 550 of which will be "carefully transplanted."
ERA had already issued this permit in February this year (EP 1472/22). However, following our appeal before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), the permit was revoked after the Tribunal found that the proper procedure had not been followed: the permit had been issued in secrecy, without any opportunity for public participation.
The decision that ERA is due to take once again on Friday is directly linked to the Planning Authority permit for Hili Group's development of 16 villas, 44 swimming pools and a 71-room hotel.
"This permit for an intensive construction project on a highly protected nature reserve, which would irreversibly damage Comino as we know it, is currently the subject of a legal challenge by several NGOs. In May, the Court upheld one of the NGOs' main arguments and referred the case back to the Tribunal for reconsideration after finding irregularities in the way it had confirmed the permit," Moviment Graffitti said.
"It would be absurd for ERA - the very authority entrusted with protecting Malta's environment - to approve the removal of hundreds of trees and authorise construction works on the basis of a PA permit that is still being legally contested and is therefore far from definitive," it added.
The NGO called on the ERA to refuse this permit and to consider it only once a final decision has been reached on the PA permit for Hili Group's proposed villas and hotel on Comino.
"Anything less would mean that ERA is irresponsibly and illogically permitting the widespread destruction of Comino before it is even certain that the underlying development has been lawfully approved. Such a decision would demonstrate that, rather than fulfilling its duty to protect the environment, ERA is choosing to facilitate the interests of powerful developers," the NGO said.
In a statement in reply though, HV Hospitality said that the claim that 800 trees will be uprooted at the Six Senses Comino site is inaccurate and misrepresents the environmental programme submitted for ERA approval.
The company said that there are currently approximately 2,500 tree and shrubs on site. Around 1,900 of these are alien, invasive or ecologically incompatible species, whose controlled removal is necessary to allow Comino's native habitats to recover.
"Of the roughly 600 native and protected trees and plants on site, around 550 will be carefully transplanted. The remaining 50 will be permanently removed and each of these will be compensated at a ratio of 1:10, meaning approximately 500 new trees will be planted in their place," the company continued.
HV Hospitality said that far from reducing vegetation on Comino, the project will add approximately 55,000 new trees and plants in total, more than 20 times what exists on the site today, and will return more than 8,200 square metres of previously built-up land to its natural state.
"This represents a substantial net gain in vegetation and ecological resilience, as only native species will be present," the company said.
It continued that all works are scheduled for winter, which is the appropriate seasonal window to maximise transplantation success and minimise environmental impact, and will be carried out under specialist ecological supervision.
"This preparatory phase is entirely separate from the planning matter currently before the EPRT and remains subject to the necessary regulatory process being completed, to ensure works can be timed appropriately," the company concluded.