MEPA’s Review conference ‘Semma Lehnek’ was held today in Malta. FAA said that the conference “was positive in that it highlighted the importance that the public is giving to environmental issues and quality of life in urban areas.”
FAA added that the downside was that MEPA’s focus was on development regulations and the legalisation of abuse, “with no talk of the effect of over-development on urban stress and public health.”
“Still less was there a commitment to undertake social impact studies which are so essential especially in areas where mega-projects and high-rise are taking over residential areas,” the NGO said.
FAA said it calls for a review “not just of policies but also of mindsets, to take MEPA beyond an authority for development, and finally give it the status of a proactive Planning Authority that safeguards and promotes Malta’s social, environmental and economic interests.”