ERA’s Legal Notice on Dwejra represents a grave threat to this site’s scientific value

Dwejra, in Gozo, has long been a site of exceptional value for scientific education and research. As light pollution has continued to intensify across the Maltese Islands – largely as a result of inadequate regulation of exterior lighting – Dwejra has endured as one of the very last refuges of natural darkness, and the most significant remaining site where high-quality astronomical observations can still be carried out for both research and educational purposes.

Over the years, this site has been actively used by university students undertaking their research projects. Dwejra has contributed substantially to the training of future scientists: it inspired them, and it provided a rare observational window through which they could study the Universe directly.

Beyond academia, Dwejra has been invaluable for public education and outreach. It has enabled meaningful engagement with the wider community, particularly with young children, many of whom experienced a truly dark, starry sky there for the first time. Such experiences foster curiosity, imagination, and a deeper interest in science – prompting questions about stars, galaxies, and the nature of the Universe itself.

It was our expectation that this legacy would be preserved. Sound stewardship demands that sites of such rarity and value be protected with the utmost care. It is both reasonable and necessary to expect that an area designated for environmental and cultural protection would not be compromised – least of all by the very authority entrusted with its safeguarding.

Regrettably, the new legal notice issued by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) effectively signals the end of Dwejra’s night sky as a scientifically viable dark site. By permitting lighting until midnight, the notice directly contradicts the Gozo and Comino Local Plan, which explicitly designates Dwejra as a Dark Sky Heritage Area under Policy GZ-DARK-1. This decision runs counter to established scientific evidence, best practices in nature conservation, and the broader public interest.

The night sky is a shared natural and cultural heritage. While other countries are actively working to protect and gain international recognition for their dark skies, Malta is moving in the opposite direction – diminishing and irreversibly degrading one of its last remaining natural assets.

We therefore urge the responsible ministers and ERA to reconsider and reverse this decision. The only scientifically sound, logically consistent, and ethically defensible course of action is to ensure that no artificial lighting is permitted at Dwejra at any time. Anything less represents an unacceptable loss to science, education, and our shared heritage.

Department of Physics
Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy
Chamber of Scientists