Future threats to Gozo

Gozo faces a number of realities and challenges mainly originating from its double insularity which may necessitate a more tailor-made approach to address them. Being an island within an island, the operators in Gozo suffer from a number of comparative disadvantages to their counterparts in Malta such as high transportation costs.

Transport in Gozo is highly dependent on private car use causing congestion, air pollution and noise in certain areas. The recently introduced new public transport system is expected to help reduce these impacts.

The small size of the island renders space very sensitive and as a result limits opportunities for both business and industrial activity. Issues with space are also evident in the extremely fragmented farm land which limits the optimal use for agriculture.

Gozo is characterised by an ageing population and a high dependency ratio. Its economy is highly dependent on tourism, retailing and governmental services.

These factors combine to create a number of threats to the island’s future opportunities.

The thematic issues and the Maltese spatial structure identified the following thematic objective that applies specifically to Gozo:

Objective 22: to ensure that the socio-economic needs of Gozo are met and to protect the distinctiveness of Gozo’s settlements, cultural and natural environment to support the implementation of Eco-Gozo’s initiative.

MEPA is currently carrying out a public consultation exercise on government’s strategic objectives for the preparation of the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED). How social aspects, economic growth and environmental standards are addressed by this plan will affect your quality of life. This is an opportunity to influence the decision-making process to shape the way development will take place – you can give a voice to your opinion.

The document can be accessed on line from: www.mepa.org.mt/public-consultation.