Environmental NGOs issued a joint statement today regarding what they describe as “misleading information on MEPA legislation.”

“In a bid to justify the new MEPA laws which increase politicians’ stranglehold on planning and environment, Government publicity is giving incorrect and misleading messages.”

The eNGOs stated that contrary to what is being claimed, “at no point did the eNGOs Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers’ Association, Friends of the Earth or MOAM give unconditional support to the splitting of MEPA.”

The eNGOs pointed out that they were ready “to consider such a move as long as it strengthened the environment sector which had always been practically ignored or had to give way to development interests.”

“The split or ‘demerger’ as now being proposed weakens the protection of environment even further, with the new Environment Authority being reduced to just another government entity to be consulted at whim,” they said.

“Further statements that the new laws give the advantage that NGOs will be able to appeal against MEPA decisions are not correct,” the eNGOs said. “This right is in fact strictly limited to applications where Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs) or Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) assessments are required.”

“These make up only a fraction of MEPA’s caseload. This number may be further reduced by MEPA’s recent tendency to release applicants from the necessity to prepare an EIA as in Gaffarena’s 35-warehouse development.”

“The reality is that by sidelining the Environment Authority, the new regulations further weaken the protection of Malta’s out of development zones and the environment in general. The new law also ignores the impact of development on residents, as social impact is completely left out of the matters to be taken into account in the new Spatial Strategy policy,” the eNGOs said.

“The overriding drive of the new planning legislation is to strengthen the Minister’s control over planning matters, not only through the appointment of board members, but also in the granting or withholding of information to the public.”

“Politicians have no place at MEPA,” the eNGOs stated “Policies and decisions should be left to technical experts, with the backing of professional and impartial studies which have been missing from all recent policies. Politicians, on the other hand, are ever more prominently present,” they said.

The eNGOs concluded by saying that “the only reform that will make a difference to Malta’s open spaces, to improving the well-being of residents, supporting tourism and the economy, is a reform in politicians’ real commitment to the environment.”

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