In a most commendable initiative, Din l-Art Ħelwa, the voluntary association that has been urging the protection of Malta’s environment and cultural heritage for almost 50 years, has launched an online ‘voting document’ specifically focusing on environmental and heritage issues.
Its aim is to invite the people to air their opinions on a series of crucially important issues dealing with the environment with a view to influencing the two major political parties in the formulation of their electoral manifestos, the publication of which is now imminent.
Politicians, if they are wise, will note the priority concerns of the public and will seek means of assuaging them.
The DLĦ opinion poll is quite straightforward to fill. It can be accessed on the NGO’s website – http://dinlarthelwa.org/public-survey/ . The respondent only needs to place the 12 proposals listed, ranging from “Stop the building” to “Protect our local agriculture” and others, in the preferred order of importance and then submit by clicking “Done” at the bottom of the page.
The vote is anonymous. It will be automatically registered and respondents will not be able to vote more than once.
It will be recalled that just before the last general election, in 2008, the ‘environmental deficit’ became one of the key issues. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi undertook personally to oversee steps to overcome this.
The 12 points in the DLĦ’s ‘voting document’ allow the public not only to assess how much progress has been made in the last five years on key environmental issues but, more importantly, to highlight the areas where there is still more to be done.
To take some of the 12 targets at random: “Prevent the despoliation of Malta’s remaining countryside”, “Protect the landscape and public views from development” and “Take action against illegal use of land.” Many will see this as a major point of concern. But, then, “Promote sustainable water” or “Stop illegal hunting” come up and the respondent is, thus, torn between three areas that, undoubtedly, need tackling.
But there are more. For example, “Dedicate another one per cent of the total national budget to built heritage”, “More heritage, history and art in our schools”, “Meet targets for alternative energy and reduction of waste”.
And who could argue with “Protect the marine environment and fish stocks” or “Reverse the culture (on cutting down trees in urban areas)”?
DLĦ has selected the 12 areas listed for improvement wisely, as, indeed, one would expect it would.
The list is a reflection of how much still requires to be done. It conveys a stark message to the politicians about the lack of stewardship over the years of these areas of policy that are so vital to the peoples’ quality of life.
Regrettably, these policy areas remain vulnerable to politicians’ predisposition to use the environment as an expendable resource to ‘purchase’ votes from, for example, the hunting or construction development lobbies or illegal occupants of public land.
It is up to the public to show that this is no longer acceptable – if it ever were – and to send a clear message through this ‘voting document’.
The DLĦ initiative offers the opportunity to other major environmental organisations – like Nature Trust, the Ramblers Association, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, BirdLife and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar – to get on board and urge their members to make their voices heard through this online poll.
The data captured will indicate the priority environmental goals that the political parties should urgently address.
NGOs involved in other areas might be tempted to follow suit.