As part of the public consultation process on the three new national parks, the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Miriam Dalli, together with Project Green, met with Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien għall-Ambjent Aħjar, which together formed the ‘Manoel Island For Us’ movement.

The two organisations presented their proposals for Manoel Island, developed following a series of workshops with over 70 participants.

Minister Miriam Dalli explained the Government’s commitment to transforming White Rocks, Manoel Island, and Fort Campbell into open spaces by the people and for the people. “The ‘Manoel Island: Post Għalina’ campaign played an important role in the fact that today we are talking about Manoel Island as a national park. Meanwhile, through the ‘Shape Your Space’ campaign, over 1,300 submissions have already been received from the public about what they would like to see in these spaces. During this period, we are also meeting with a number of stakeholders, where we are seeing a convergence of thinking in the discussions we are having,” said Minister Dalli.

She explained how, for example, there is an emphasis being placed on the architectural beauty of Manoel Island, its cultural heritage, as well as social and environmental aspects. “Above all, we want these national parks to be designed in an inclusive, transparent manner and with full respect for the environment and the community,” the Minister added.

“As part of the public consultation we are conducting on the three national parks, we continued by meeting with stakeholders and NGOs, specifically those who led the ‘Manoel Island: Post Għalina’ campaign. They shared with us the research and consultations they carry out with the community at large, and we understood — and indeed agree — that we are on the same wavelength and share the same vision for this place,” said the Chief Operations Officer of Project Green, Perit Beverley Costa.