Land management of Wied il-Għasel valley system

Abstract

Valleys serve many different functions simultaneously, whether natural or anthropogenic. Valleys are natural water catchment areas that sustain an ecology of their own. They are fragile habitats, they actively contribute to the replenishment of the water table and act as safety valves for the transportation of surface runoff. They are natural shelters for various species. On the other hand, the human impact on valleys is felt by the terracing of the slopes, transforming them into fields for agriculture; the pollution produced from ancillary activities to agriculture such as fertilizing and spraying insecticide in the fields. Valleys are used as dumping sites by human beings, as recreational even as sources of literal inspiration if the Valleys are unique landforms, and yet separating them from the rest of the world to protect them is unwise: isolating them would kill them off as they depend on a web of smaller dependencies on ether environments. This is the basis for proper land management to which the term "sustainability" is crucial.