It was almost 20 years ago when Malta had proposed the appointment of “a guardian for future generations” to be included in the final declaration of the United Nations Rio Earth Summit.

The proposal put forward by then Foreign Minister Guido de Marco was shot down by other countries and never made it into the final declaration of the 1992 summit that addressed issues of sustainability.

However, the government is once again considering the concept as Parliament prepares to debate the Sustainable Development Bill when it reconvenes after the summer recess in October.

Incidentally, the Bill is being piloted by Prof. de Marco’s son, Environment Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco.

The suggestion was made by Alternattiva Demokratika’s environment spokesman Carmel Cacopardo in an article on The Times last Saturday.

“The guardian of future generations would be the voice of those still unborn to defend their right to make their own choices, independently of the choices of present and past generations,” Mr Cacopardo wrote. He suggested the issue be addressed when Parliament discusses legislation on sustainable development.

When asked about the matter, a spokesman said the Environment Parliamentary Secretariat was considering a number of suggestions it received during the first round of consultations on the Sustainable Development Bill. Among the suggestions, she said, was the one made by Mr Cacopardo.

In 1992, Malta had argued that it was not sufficient for the international community to recognise the rights of future generations and words had to be transformed into action. It suggested that an authorised person be appointed as guardian of future generations to act on their behalf when policy decisions were taken.

The proposal had been drawn up by the International Environment Institute of the University of Malta within the framework of its Future Generations Programme led by Fr Emanuel Agius.