Trees at Aldo Moro Road in Marsa were savagely cut down in a road upgrade project details of which were not available on the planning authority's website, the FAA Trees Group said.

It said in a statement that there was no evidence of a permit having been applied for and granted, nor of public consultations having been held.

"Regrettably, the Prime Minister's response to the tree petition launched by the Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar Tree Group and several other NGOs to stop the destruction of Malta's trees, has been to question the authenticity of the petition's 2,000 signatories.

"The FAA Tree Group maintains that Malta's politicians, as elected representatives of the Maltese, would do far better to take on board the message that the people are sending, that as Malta is already barren enough and lacking in trees, more urban trees are needed on our roads and in our towns and villages rather than more concrete."

The FAA Tree Group said it deplored the destruction of the Marsa trees and asked what action was to be taken by the authorities concerned.

"FAA members and the public are still waiting to hear what action has been taken on the unauthorised uprooting of ancient, protected olive trees at Mdina. The FAA Tree Group is shocked, as are Paola residents, that MEPA approved the permit to uproot all the trees at Paola Square, one of the most polluted areas in Malta, when trees absorb toxic emissions. Why was this application processed without consulting MEPA's Environment Directorate?"

The group said that the Prime Minister's negative reply indicated that trees and environment were still not a priority on politicians' agenda.

It urged the public to sign the Stop Killing Trees petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-killing-trees-in-malta# .

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.