Tax incentives to scheduled property owners suggested

Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco yesterday put forward a number of suggestions to help owners of scheduled properties from continuing being disadvantaged, asking whether tax credits should be awarded to those who did proper maintenance or whether they should pay the whole stamp duty when selling their scheduled property.

He was introducing the two-sitting debate on Mepa's The State of the Environment Report - 2008, which highlighted the situation in a number of environmental areas including air, water, climate change, biodiversity and policy responses to environmental issues. The report would be used in drafting the national environment policy, and he thanked opposition environment spokesman Leo Brincat for agreeing on the utility of the debate.

Dr de Marco also announced that the government had prepared a Water Catchment Management Plan which was to be issued for public consultation within weeks.

He said the report provided a snapshot of the condition of the environment in Malta and could not be taken to reflect the condition of the environment for any other year except 2008. In fact, periodic scrutiny of the environment was necessary.

Malta must determine its goals for the environment. It was not always easy for members of the House, as the people's representatives, to take decisions on the environment because this necessitated sacrifices, which also came with a cost. Such costs must be weighed with the cost resultant from being negligent towards the environment. It was a considerable responsibility of Members of Parliament to explain to the people the choices available and their pros and cons.

He described the report as a technical analysis providing a mapping exercise of the condition of the environment, the factors that had an impact on the environment and also recommendations for a more sustainable environment.

Dr de Marco said that while tourism was good for the economy it impacted heavily on the country's resources and environment. Even agro-tourism would leave an impact on the environment, not least through the development of structures in areas outside development zones.

The report emphasised the need to promote a tourism sector which was more respectful of the environment. In this regard, Dr de Marco reflected on the award schemes being promoted by the Malta Tourism Authority, such as that of eco-tourism and the eco-label. He also commented on the promotion of tourism spread out over the 12 months of the year rather than focused on a few months.

The report considered quarries, the value of stone, clean air, use of chemicals and their impact on air, land resources, the coast, biodiversity, environmental health, and the relationship between the natural environment and the economy. Results in some sectors were encouraging, but more attention needed to be dedicated to waste management, water management, emission control, land use and lifestyle. Although the report indicated that the Maltese had met basic material needs, the population continued to place heavy demands on the environment.

Dr de Marco said the agricultural sector was important because it also strengthened the Maltese countryside and biodiversity, giving life to Malta's land.

However, agriculture brought with it a higher use of chemicals and the extraction of water from the aquifer, thereby leading to an extremely high level of nitrates. The challenge was consequently to promote good farming practices, such as the use of organic farming. While there was an increase in organic farming this had not reached the desired targets, and it also seemed that the concept of organic farming had not taken root in Gozo.

Electricity generation and traffic also had negative impacts on the environment. Both had continued to increase.

Malta had a high density population, with a big proportion of private cars on the road. People continued to show a high dependence on the use of personal cars. This must be addressed and although the levels of benzene were reported to have diminished through the use of better products, the need was emphasised of a public transport that was environment-friendly.

Dr de Marco noted that the generation of energy was also being addressed by the government through the laying of the pipeline, extension of the Delimara power station and the big challenge of the wind farm project. Although the wind farm might be said to have a negative visual impact on the environment, choices had to be made and this depended on whether Malta wanted a better environment.

He also encouraged families to make more use of equipment which was less damaging to the environment, noting that the use of solar panels was not only beneficial to the environment but had a long-term advantage of reducing the cost of electricity.

Mepa had designed a plan to improve the quality of air. The transport reform would also have a good impact because it would reduce pollution.

Dr de Marco referred to the black dust, saying it was a problem that might be caused by traffic or by industrial pollution.

From the preliminary analysis done by Mepa, one could not associate the samples with power station fly ash. While Fgura residents were still complaining on black dust, this was different from last summer's. Mepa was committed to conducting the necessary samples to find and solve the problem.

Construction also had an important role in the economy because it created several jobs. However, it also impacted heavily on the environment because it produced dust and caused damage to property.

While there were 40,000 vacant properties, around 10,000 were second homes and a number of other properties were not for sale because they were under co-ownership. The rent reform would also help towards utilising vacant property.

One should reflect on the future needs before committing to using the source of air. While the 1980s had brought the need for more homes, hotels, offices and roads, people were generally had a good quality of life. The country had improved economically.

Meanwhile, the Maltese had become more aware of the importance of culture and the environment. The report had identified 62 urban conservation areas.

Dr de Marco stressed the need to make historical centres more accessible. Along with Mdina and Valletta, he referred to other localities, such as Żejtun and Qormi, that had cultural and historical factors.

More property should be scheduled. Until 2008 there had been 1,900 scheduled properties. This was not enough. Scheduling should be used correctly. Moreover, scheduling should not disadvantage the owner but serve as an advantage to use the property while not damaging it.

It was here that Dr de Marco asked whether owners who adequately maintained their scheduled properties deserved tax rebates. Should they pay full fees when applying for development permits?

He referred to certain areas in Vittoriosa and Cospicua, where old property could be converted into boutique hotels. While this created sustainable tourism, it also maintained the characteristics of the property. This could be used as area regeneration.

As part of the Mepa reform, Dr de Marco said that the government would not allow developments in ODZ areas.

On waste management, there was a need for more educational campaigns as well as incentive schemes to fulfil Malta's obligations by recycling half of the domestic waste and a third of construction waste. While the government had invested a lot in this sector, there should also be investment by the private sector in order to have more sustainability.

Dr de Marco said the environmental report showed that Malta had more than 40 ODZ areas, a figure that compared well with other European countries.

The report stressed for more protection for natural sea environments. Among the most important of benthic communities is that based on the Mediterranean sea grass, Posidonia oceanica, which could be affected both directly through the physical damage of vegetal mass, and indirectly through the suspension of sediments that limited the amount of light reaching the plant. A decline in sea grass meadows would lead to a disruption of the food web because these habitats acted as nursery grounds for a variety of species.

Meanwhile, the sea around Malta had attracted some 70,000 tourists for diving holidays. Many of these tourists went to Gozo. More divers would be attracted if Malta and Gozo were marketed as a marine protected area, but in order to do this one needed to protect the living organisms in these areas. Should these sites be off limits for fishing purposes? Were people ready for such restrictions?

Dr de Marco warned that one should not become a victim of success, adding that success in tourism should not put a heavy weight on protected sites.

Dr de Marco said it was useless declaring protected sites unless they could be well managed. Environmental NGOs were already doing a lot to help, but there was much more to be done. Such protection of the natural heritage would help to regularise the environment.

On hunting the government had taken decisions to make Malta conform to the European Court of Justice and the EU's Birds Directive. It was well known that other countries were taking a more lax approach in this area, but life was made of choices so long as they were consistent.

The Environment Report showed that Malta had achieved many positive results in several sectors. It had been reported that 99 per cent of Malta's swimming areas conformed to EU standards, which was much better than earlier reports. In other countries, only 95 per cent of swimming areas conformed to standards.

The rest of Dr de Marco's speech will be carried tomorrow.