Ramblers petition Parliament

The Ramblers' Association in a petition to Parliament yesterday urged the government to issue a White Paper aimed at updating laws dealing with access to the countryside and the foreshore.

"The laws on access to the countryside and the foreshore need to be updated, this time not for the purpose of defence, but for the recreation of the people, for the benefit of their health and the appreciation of nature."

The association said Malta has a confused system on the ownership of paths and other access to the countryside and the foreshore and Maltese and tourists were often turned away, threatened and even attacked.

Malta was also the only European country which did not have an official, definitive map that showed which paths were private and which were public.

Furthermore, in other civilised countries the countryside was regulated by laws and people had a right of way even over privately-owned zones.

Malta, however, even lacked a proper definition of what constituted the foreshore, which, the association said, should include all the coastal zone of Malta.

It also complained that several historic archaeological sites and other sites of cultural or geological interest had been taken over by private individuals and were not even accessible for researchers.

The association said that until a specific law was enacted, the minister responsible should ensure that action was taken against those who abused.

The petititon was signed by Lino Bugeja and Alex Vella, president and secretary respectively of the association. It was presented to the House by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo.