ERA evasive on limiting number of visitors to overcrowded Comino

Capping the number of pleasure boats and tourists arriving in the Blue Lagoon is considered crucial to control ecological damage in the protected site, but a commitment undertaken nearly six years ago to establish the beach’s carrying capacity has not been implemented.

The Natura 2000 Management Plan for Comino published in 2016 considers that tourism at the Blue Lagoon must be controlled efficiently in order to ensure that it is “in harmony with the site’s conservation needs”. Management plans for Natura 2000 include action plans that protect sites belonging to the EU’s network of protected areas.

The anarchic situation in the Blue Lagoon was exposed in last week’s direct action by Graffitti activists, followed by a government decision to stop operators from putting sunbeds on the sandy beach. But as the activists pointed out, the long-term solution to the problem requires a limit on the number of tourists reaching the ecologically sensitive beach.

Significantly, one of the measures the approved Comino Management Plan establishes as an operational objective is “to plan and implement a tourism carrying capacity assessment of the Blue Lagoon”. The management plan states that the tourism carrying capacity assessment should be carried out within the first year of the plan’s implementation.

But six years down the line it remains unclear whether a study to establish the Blue Lagoon’s carrying capacity has ever been done.

MaltaToday asked the Environment and Resources Authority to state whether it had carried out the carrying-capacity assessment as laid down in the management plan. But the ERA completely evaded these questions, insisting that it is just “one of the competent entities addressing Comino and its flora and fauna.”

“Within this context, and as part of the ongoing management process, ERA is implementing the approved plan on the ground which is implemented with other competent implementing entities,” the ERA spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Actions taken by ERA include works on the management of the Qala (Comino) area, where work is ongoing on the restoration of the marshland (funded by the United Nations Environment Programme), habitat restoration works, removal of invasive alien species, clean ups, forestation projects and camping at Tal-Ful.

Moreover ERA confirmed that the management plan is currently being revised as part of the management revision process.

Working group had proposed curator for Comino

MaltaToday is informed that in February 2017, months after the approval of the ERA’s management plan, a working group formed by people from different government entities including the Malta Tourism Authority, had presented government with a detailed document entitled “Management Measures for Comino”. Apart from capping the number of boats and tourists, the recommendations included the appointment of an island curator responsible for keeping operators in line with regulations.

The document, written five years ago, denounced that while the MTA promotes Comino as an “idealised place” the reality was “completely different” and one characterised by “huge numbers of visitors” who visit the islands during the peak season. “All of this, coupled with lack of adherence to regulations by operators, has led to negative marketing of Malta’s sister island.”

The document also denounced that the area catering for the boats is substantially larger than that allotted to swimmers and the proximity of the mooring areas to the Blue Lagoon itself detracts from the beauty of the place.

The document refers to MTA statistics showing that at the majority of those visiting the Blue Lagoon arrive by means of organised cruises (between 3,500-4,000 visitors in summer 2016), with others using the water taxis, from Ċirkewwa, Mġarr and Sliema (between 500-1,000 in summer 2016).

The vision proposed for Comino clearly stated that tourism activity at the Blue Lagoon, Santa Marija Bay, and the other popular bays within the Comino (both in the sea and on land), should be “controlled effectively, in order to be practiced in harmony with Comino’s conservation needs.” It also proposes a management committee to be set up under the MTA, with participation from the tourism and Gozo ministries, the ERA and Transport Malta.

One of the tasks assigned to the new committee was to “finally draft a carrying capacity for the island of Comino”, specifically by identifying the different carrying capacities for each of the existing tourism and recreational activities on Comino, with priority given to initially establishing the carrying capacity of the Blue Lagoon, Santa Marija Bay, and the other popular bays and marine areas.

The committee also had to identify “management options” to implement the carrying-capacity study, extend the swimmers' zone to ensure boats are moored further out from the shoreline, as well as appoint an island curator to manage the land and sea activities according to licensing obligations.

Significantly, the long-term goal was to declare the sea around Comino as an anchor-free area, with visiting boats obliged to use specially installed mooring facilities instead of dropping anchor.

The working group had also studied the possibility of introducing a number of fees to generate the required income for the management of the site. Among the options considered was the introduction of a special license for water transport operators taking visitors to Comino and the introduction of an environmental contribution for all visitors to Comino.

The tourism carrying-capacity study would establish the number of visitors appropriate for the existing tourism and recreation activities within Comino.

The decision on whether to introduce a fee or not was to be taken at a later stage after the island’s carrying capacity was established and following consultation with stakeholders.