Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana can breathe a sigh of relief after her colleague, Environment Minister José Herrera, vowed to extend his help over an afforestation project that resulted in a barren wasteland.
The Times of Malta reported earlier this week that a 2015 afforestation project overlooking Ta’ Pinu sanctuary had been laid to waste after months of neglect.
The project was launched by former Gozo minister Anton Refalo. About 50 olive trees were planted but were left to die after no irrigation system was reportedly put in place.
Dr Herrera told the Times of Malta the project did not fall under his remit, adding the trees had probably died due to a lack of water.
He said he had instructed his ministry to communicate with their Gozitan counterparts to offer “technical advice and guidance” in an attempt to restore the afforestation project. It was a brilliant idea, but sometimes such projects were difficult to maintain, the minister remarked.
Dr Herrera said earlier this week that 2018 would be a record year for tree planting, mentioning a figure of 12,000. Acknowledging the difficulties in such initiatives, he pointed towards the Comino afforestation project as an example of…
