Conservation project backed by GasanMamo

GasanMamo have taken up an ambitious conservation project with The Gaia Foundation, supporting it in the protection and conservation of the Maltese landscape.

“GasanMamo’s support will be of great help in increasing rehabilitation work being carried out on a part of the Ghajn Tuffieha Natura 2000 site, namely the lower part of Hotba l-Bajda,” said Dr Rudolf Ragonesi, CEO of the Foundation. “Their contribution will allow us to increase our rehabilitation work of removing alien vegetation from the site and replacing it with native plants appropriate to the habitat, based on the Natura 2000 guidelines.”

Project Gaia is Malta’s first integrated coastal zone management project, which started at Ghajn Tuffieha with the signing of a management agreement with the Ministry responsible for the Environment and MEPA. Gaia also manages a second Natura 2000 site – Ramla l-Hamra in Gozo – under a similar agreement. One of the Foudation’s aims is to protect the land from erosion and maintain the ecological integrity of the habitats within the sites, an ongoing process which is hard to complete due to the lack of human resources.

The Project, called “Olympus” forms part of the initiative supported by GasanMamo. The Acacia tree is the main alien species on site. It has very strong roots, is highly invasive and prevents the native plants from flourishing. It is being replaced by a number of species such as Lentisk, Mediterranean Buckthorn, Yellow Leaved Germander and Evergreen Honeysuckle, in an area that was used as agricultural land in the past.

“Conservation projects are the ones of most value to the Maltese community,” said Julian J Mamo, Director at GasanMamo. “It is this understanding that has spurred us to contribute towards safeguarding such an important part of our environment.”

The Gaia Foundation has welcomed the collaboration of a leading player in the private sector that allows it to step up its conservation work in Natura 2000 sites in an effort to safeguard these for future generations.