Editorial

At the macro-level, the first two objectives of the island's Tourism Policy - managing tourism on the principles of sustainable development and the maintenance and conservation of our environmental and socio-cultural resources - are unassailable. Both were elaborated upon in this newspaper yesterday by the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco.

He concluded his contribution by stating that "our (tourism) future depends on making the most of our environment to attract the ever growing segment of environment-conscious tourists". And we say "amen" to that.

But the environment also has many features at the micro-level that need to be attended to - and have needed attention for decades. It is gratifying to note that, at last, things are starting to move in the right direction.

Last Tuesday we reported that in the period of a fortnight a crackdown on individuals contravening litter and dumping laws yielded much fruit. A total of 300 on-the-spot fines ranging from a mild €11.65 to a healthier one of €2,562 for leaving building sites unsecured, were slapped on offenders by police officers, local wardens (they do not exist only to collect traffic fines, after all and, again, at last) and Mepa inspectors. This form of redress will now become a feature of law enforcement, which has up to now been scandalously lacking.

Among those fined, marvellously we may add, were people discarding their cigarette ends in the street. May we hope that those who are caught doing the same with chewing gum become the butt of greater retribution; ditto those who regard streets as their private spittoon and a loo for their dog's excrement.

There has been some improvement in the case of the latter contravention but there are still dog-owners to be seen - on the Sliema promenade, for example - leading their pet on to the flower and shrubbery strips there to relieve themselves (the dogs, we mean).

Heartening to be told by Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said, who has taken on this operation, that this is "not a temporary exercise... we now want to increase the momentum". It is intended to run a television programme during the winter to make us all aware that littering the place is for mutts; and any development site, large and small, does not make its owner the lord and giver of dust and uncontrolled noise.

It ought to be clear, because we experience this at first-hand, that there is a sense in which little things count because when their consequences - dirt, fag-ends, chewing gum, newspaper littering - accumulate, they become a Big Thing, an eyesore and an embarrassment for anybody who has any respect for the environment in the street where he, or she, lives.

We want a cleaner Malta for ourselves, first, and next for the million visitors we host. This desire should come from a feeling of self-respect which has often been sadly lacking in this business of littering and dumping any which way we wish - and up till now, offenders have been getting away with it.

If Dr Said is successful in this venture, as he shows every intention of being, he will have demonstrated for all time what we all know - enforcement works. Legislation to improve the quality of life is only as good as its enforcement. That this is finally being realised should be a source of general satisfaction.