The Mepa reform will be useless if it does not protect the natural environment more effectively. The reform should include changing the Structure Plan so as to leave no loopholes.

At the rate we are going all the Maltese islands will be built up. Natural beauty spots like Ta' Ċenċ and Ramla Bay in Gozo are being targeted by people with lots of money. So the Structure Plan must be tightened up to stop them from having their way.

Our open spaces, hills, ridges, our ecosystems, our sea give the Maltese islands their identity as much as the churches, historical buildings, etc. So let us preserve our natural environment and rehabilitate it where it has been ruined. For example, Ħondoq ir-Rummien should be rehabilitated and turned into a national park. The infamous Gozo racetrack should also be rehabilitated.

The Church should educate parishioners to be aware of the need to protect the natural environment. This natural beauty, our coastlines and our beaches are there to be enjoyed by all and not by some capricious developer. The Church should also set an example. In the Nadur Cemetery case, it did not consult the farmers involved, the bishop did not listen to their pleas, and other sites were not considered; the Church's Environment Commission did not comment on this development. I hope there is still time to stop and reverse this development.

There should be a hierarchy of priorities when we talk about taking care of the environment: the first one being to protect what natural environment we have left. Many blow their trumpets about how they are caring for the environment. They plant trees on TV. They manage waste. All this is good. But the first priority is protecting the natural land. What good does it do to continue expanding into the natural environment, making gashes in it, and then planting trees to hide the wound?

This is our home. We have to preserve this gem. The environment we have, the clay slopes, the garigue, the undulating hills in the distance, our golden cliffs and ridges, the three islands separated by sea, make Malta and Gozo what they are. If we lose this, we lose it forever.

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