FAA in a statement has responded to what it describes as the “Government’s failure in environmental governance.”

“It comes as no surprise that the EU has declared that the law to exempt hospital-ground developments from scrutiny is illegal. This violates the EU’s Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and is yet another example of this Government’s lack of respect for the public. Because of Government’s drive to satisfy its pre-election promises to select interest groups, this country is lurching from one environmental crisis to another,” said FAA.

“This can be seen from the threat of ever-encroaching construction to satisfy the perceived need for further development, and also from the increasing applications for petrol stations on ODZ land – in a country with 80 petrol stations, or one for every 4 square km of land.”

FAA stated that, “no sooner had the Archbishop objected to plans to build a supermarket on the site of the Carmelite Priory in Balluta which would destroy one of the few remaining green lungs in the area, reducing the quality of life of residents in this area with more traffic and air pollution, than we now hear of plans to build a motorsports circuit in Malta.”

“How can tiny Malta spare 80 hectares, equal to 100 football pitches, to accommodate an activity that would create air and noise pollution to residents for miles around?” The NGO asked. “It is highly irresponsible of the Government to encourage such a damaging project.”

FAA said that successive Governments have fostered the mentality that “everything that is found in America, Dubai and Singapore can be fitted into this little island.”

Motorsport enthusiasts claim their rights but several sports lack facilities, such as a cycling track. Malta has a growling community of skiers and mountain-climbers, it said.

“Will they also have the right to build an artificial ski-slope to practice their sport? Those who can afford a sports car can surely afford to use professional circuits in Sicily, rather than inflicting the health problems of pollution on the Maltese public.”

“We have to start accepting the limitations of this tiny island and protect its assets rather than fixating on what we cannot have. ODZ projects like foreign universities and motorsport circuits need to be assessed as to whether they are essential to the well-being of a tiny nation that does not have an unemployment problem, said FAA.

The value of a natural site cannot be reduced to the price of its footprint. Studies prove that green areas are essential to residents’ physical and mental health; without access to green areas, public and private health costs will increase, said the NGO. “Green spaces are essential for free recreation and attract tourists; reducing them would have an economic impact and cause social and environmental injustice.”

“The loss of green areas reduces Malta’s biodiversity and agriculture, increasing food dependence on imports. More concrete eliminates soil’s ability to absorb pollution and rain, hence increasing flooding and water loss.”

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar concluded by saying that it “holds that the loss of ODZ cannot be compensated to the public financially through raising the cost of green sites. This Government needs to change its focus from money alone to real governance, starting with an appreciation of our health-giving, natural green spaces.”

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