Editorial

When the government squeaked back to power following the last general election, the immediate recognition by the Prime Minister that the “environmental deficit” had been one of the key issues in the election campaign which needed to be tackled at the highest level was seen as crucial to finding the right solutions. But while it had been politically opportune to take that stance as part of the electoral campaign, he may not have fully realised that to develop the right strategy for dealing with Malta’s environmental deficit and to implement it, would require both leadership and the right organisational structures.

Although placing the environment directly under his control was the right decision and gave him the opportunity to energise inter-ministerial coordination on environmental matters, the results have been disappointing. This was the firm message conveyed to the government by members of civil society engaged in environmental matters when they met Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and the Environment Mario de Marco (the latter a late addition to his portfolio) to discuss the “Issues Paper” which will lead eventually to a National Environmental Policy.

The weight of criticism at the conference was that green issues were being dealt with in a fragmented manner, that there was no real integration between government departments on important environmental issues, problems were not being tackled effectively or were simply being passed around from one department to another. The fact that the draft document contained proposals which had last been considered some years ago also added to the frustration. In mitigation, Dr de Marco took a more bullish approach, arguing that the government was intent on addressing local environmental problems, not just EU directives.

The fact of the matter, however, is that the environment in Malta has always suffered from being the Cinderella to its ugly, though vital, sister the economy. For Malta’s successful sustainable development, three interlocking objectives must be met: The maintenance of stable levels of economic growth; social progress that recognises the needs of everybody; and effective protection of the environment. This third element is what people thought they were going to get when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi took this portfolio under his wing.

That those who are at the front line of environmental issues do not think it has happened should be a matter for personal concern to the Prime Minister since he knows it is one of the criteria by which his Administration will be judged in two years’ time. “Joined-up” government has always been a weakness in Malta. Careful planning on the environment can only come about from making it a truly cross-cutting issue in each of the ministries directly impacting on environmental issues and across the government as a whole.

There is a need for firm inter-ministerial coordination through a strongly led Cabinet Committee under the Prime Minister to rein in the large ministries directly concerned at the policy-making level. While organisationally the Prime Minister’s decision to take ownership and leadership of this area was commendable, he now has to exercise the political will to bring his Cabinet colleagues fully on board. Unless all the entities with a stake in looking after the environment work as one in tackling the multifarious problems of regulating it, the current difficulties will persist – to its detriment – and ultimately the government will pay the price in lost votes.