Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries launches publication about river-valleys in Malta

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries launches publication about river-valleys in Malta

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Ninu Zammit, this morning launched the publication "Widien", a book about Maltese river-valleys, at a ceremony held at the Foundation for International Studies, in Valletta.

This 330-page book with full-colour photographs was sponsored by CIHEM, the Institute of Advanced Agricultural Studies for the Mediterranean in Bari, and by the Small Islands Institute of the Foundation for International Studies and the Ministry of Agriculture. The initiative to commence work upon this publication was taken up in 1990, when the initial surveying started. This work involved land photography, topographical surveying of most of Maltese river valleys, as well as consultation and input by local flora and fauna experts.

The book was co-authored by Mr Joe Borg, from the Department of Agriculture, and Dr Sylvia Haslam, from the University of Cambridge, and contains an in-depth study of the island’s unique river-valleys, the life they used to support, eco-systems now inhabiting them, facts about their condition, and recommendations for their conservation and enhancement.

Minister Zammit praised the initiative which led to this scientific publication. He added that our natural environment needs to have such studies which, when published, leave a legacy in print for future generations to appreciate and be better able to conserve the environment they inherit. He thanked the authors and the sponsors for making this project possible and also thanked the International Tree Foundation for their co-operation in the work done.