Lizard comment deemed ‘insensitive’

Din l-Art Ħelwa expressed disappointment at comments made by the chairman of the new Malta Developers’ Association, Michael Falzon, who described work to protect biodiversity as “collecting lizards”.

“This points towards an utter lack of sensitivity towards the state of the environment in this country,” the NGO said.

The organisation said that just as Mr Falzon had criticised the stereotyping of developers as “the bad guys”, so too should he desist from negatively stereotyping efforts to protect Malta’s natural environment.

Din l-Art Ħelwa said it hoped Mr Falzon would publicly recognise the importance of protecting biodiversity. It urged the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to prioritise and step up its efforts to promote, monitor and conserve Malta’s biodiversity and its natural habitats.

Mr Falzon’s comment was made when he expressed irritation at the recent hike in tariffs for planning applications, which, he said, was a result of developers having to subsidise the planning authority’s other costs, incurred by being twinned with environmental duties such as air monitoring and “collecting lizards”. This comment refered to studies by Mepa to determine whether the Maltese Selmunett wall lizard, scientifically known as Podarcis filfolensis kieselbachi, has become extinct.