Pro-environment protest march

"Malta is not for the developers, but for the Maltese," was the cry of a sizable crowd which yesterday participated in a national environment rally to protest that their quality of life was being threatened by constant and uncontrolled overdevelopment that was turning the island into a "veritable wasteland".

The protesters walked from City Gate and filled Great Siege Square in Valletta to express serious concern about the state of the environment - for the benefit of the few and to the detriment of the nation.

"We live in unacceptable levels of dust, dirt and pollution - a constant building site - that would never be tolerated in other European countries. And though we consider ourselves European, we are putting up with third-world conditions," said Astrid Vella, co-ordinator of Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FNA), which organised yesterday's rally, with the unprecedented support of another 18 environmental groups.

The rally was the start of a national campaign in favour of the environment, which would culminate in the presentation to the EU and the government of a petition on the loss of quality of life of the Maltese.

"Our quality of life can no longer be sold to the developers," Ms Vella said, insisting that the situation could not be tolerated any more.

Speaking in the name of the crowd and Malta's main environmental NGOs, Ms Vella said the government had been elected to defend the rights of the citizens and of future generations, "but what are we going to leave our children?"

She highlighted a few of the many environmental issues that were plaguing the country, pinpointing Swieqi, Qui-si-sana and The Gardens in St Julian's, which have been turned into "war zones", complete with cranes and dust, due to unrestrained construction, despite the fact that residents had chosen to live in these localities for peace and quiet.

Villas were being demolished to make way for unsightly blocks of flats, ruining the environment, while the development of commercial centres was threatening to create more Pacevilles.

Ms Vella mentioned the planned extension of the development zone, pointing out that Malta's built-up surface area was triple the European average.

Traditional village cores were being ruined by the construction of poorly designed and out-of-context buildings, replacing houses of architectural and historical value, she said, adding that a quarter of the houses were empty.

The country was also suffering the effects of pollution, resulting in the highest rate of asthma among children in Mediterranean countries, as well as causing cancer. Health problems were the only inheritance for future generations, she stressed.

The rape and further reduction of the already limited landscape, as well as the pollution of the sea and the uncontrolled spread of fish farms, were also having negative effects on the environment.

Yesterday's rally was strictly non-political, stemming beyond partisan politics into the national realm - "because Malta and Gozo are ours too," Ms Vella insisted.

Government after government had taken away the power of the citizens on environmental issues, while MEPA's rules and regulations were against the citizens and in favour of developers.

Banners attacking MEPA for being a "rubber stamp" and "puppets on a string", and saying it stood for: Malta's Environment Protection Abdicated; or Marsascala's Environment Passively Abandoned, were carried down Republic Street.

Developers and Environment Minister George Pullicino were also under siege, the government being accused of belonging to the developers. Environment-related cartoons by The Sunday Times and The Times cartoonist Maurice Tanti Burlò, and other posters highlighting particular issues, including the situation in Marsascala and Ghajn Tuffieha, were also held high.

A significant number of Gozitans also attended the rally to protest against the many environmental disasters that were being carried out on the island, including the proposed Ta' Cenc golf course at the expense of ecology and archaeology.

The large turnout at the rally disproved any ideas that the Maltese were not interested in the environment, Ms Vella stressed.

Together with the president of the Malta Ramblers' Association, Lino Bugeja, she urged the public to sign the petition, which demands that construction outside development zones should not even be considered, while other developments should be subject to serious study on the nation's sustainable construction needs.

The petition also requires that village and town cores, which reflect Malta's cultural heritage and way of life, should be protected from development and rehabilitated, as well as the gradual dismantling of outdated rent laws.

It demands that MEPA and its personnel be autonomous and accountable, while calling for the passing of a law on total transparency in the finances of political parties and limits to the amount of donations they could receive.

"The necessary investment should be made to ensure enforcement of the laws regarding development and the environment," the petition states, adding that "it should be recognised that the environment is a national problem and does not belong to partisan politics.

"All political parties should unite on the environmental front and take widespread positive steps for the benefit of the public," while difficult decisions, which would result in a loss of votes for any governing party, needed to be taken.

During yesterday's rally, the 500 available copies of the petition had already been taken up, but others can be accessed from www.ambjentahjar.org