Filfla: A case study of the effect of target practice on coastal landforms

Filfla is an islet located in the southernmost point of the Maltese archipelago, at about 5 km southwest of the main island of Malta. The geomorphological features of Filfla, together with the small rocky islet, Filfoletta, located one hundred metres southwest from Filfla, were strongly affected by human impact, as they were used as shooting ranges by military powers until the 1970s. This chapter presents the results of the field survey of the coastal screes surrounding the islet and visual comparisons with local Maltese screes. From these field studies, it was concluded that the consequences of the impact of the bombs still persists. In fact, the cliff surfaces at Filfla are completely bare from vegetation cover and fresh scars were observed. Local fishermen reported that many landslides had occurred during recent years, and they seem to be more frequent than along other Maltese and Gozitan coasts. Moreover, Filfoletta has mostly disappeared after the intense bombing.