The Ramblers’ Association of Malta is announcing a series of policy recommendations for a future Government to implement in order to guarantee a greater stewardship of Malta’s natural heritage for all its citizens and its future generations.

The NGO said that these concrete suggestions arise from the association’s experiences during the past legislatures and from the difficulties it has faced in attempting to protect the public good.

The association is recommending a greater empowerment of environmental NGOs, which are today essential in acting as a check and balance against environmental abuse. This can be done through the provision of resources to NGOs, such as public funding, access to State media and professional legal and planning advice.

“Regarding development occurring outside the development zone, the association is recommending an indefinite moratorium on further development zone extension. ODZ applications should be discouraged through higher processing fees and stricter controls; in addition abusive change of use for ODZ constructions should be prohibited,” Ramblers’ said

The association is proposing a separation between the planning and environmental protection arms of MEPA. Stricter democratic standards are to be applied to the Planning Authority to prevent it from being captured by pro-development interests. T”he association is thus proposing parliamentary scrutiny of planning board members, democratic participation of environmental NGOs on the said board and meritocracy for all other appointments. Enforcement should also be drastically improved and fees and direct action be seriously applied against law breakers.”

“The resulting Environment Protection Authority (EPA) should not be rendered powerless with respect to the Planning Authority. To implement this, the association recommends the former having veto power over planning applications which affect ecologically sensitive areas.

“The EPA should implement without delay measures to curb the theft of groundwater from the public by regulating all boreholes and introducing appropriate tariffs. Effective enforcement and criminal action should be taken in cases of unacceptable levels of air pollution caused by power stations, industrial establishments, incinerators and vehicular traffic,” the NGO said.

The association is also asking for “citizens’ right of access to the countryside to be safeguarded. The Government Property Division must adopt more transparent procedures in its granting of titles and stop abusive titles over Government land which are used to privatise access to the countryside.”

A definitive map of Malta identifying public, private and Church property, as well as public service paths through private land is to be published. “The Public Domain white paper announced by the outgoing Government must be followed upon and should ensure the freeing from private possession of footpaths leading to cultural heritage sites and areas of environmental beauty or importance. This law must also curb politicians’ ability to dispose of the heritage of Maltese people as if it was their private property,” the association sad.

The association also calls for all squatters to be evicted from public land, and in particular, from the Armier settlement. People occupying public land illegally are culpable of the theft of this land from the public.

“Political parties should stop undermining the rule of law through the granting of amnesties as this leads to the paradoxical situation wherein law abiding citizens are penalised while law breakers are rewarded.”

The Association concluded by saying that it “joins in with the calls of other environmental NGOs when it comes to large development projects. In particular projects like those for the development of Hondoq ir-Rummien, Ta’ Cenc, Ir-Ramla l-Hamra should not even be considered and the Manoel Island one considerably downsized.

“The Gozo Airstrip and the Gozo Tunnel also necessitate very serious Environmental Impact Assessment studies because both could lead to irreversible environmental degradation.”

Permalink: Ramblers’ Assoc calls for greater empowerment of ENGOs