The Guardian of Future Generations has spoken. The Guardian is under the leadership of Michael Zammit Cutajar, former Climate Change Ambassador, as well as Michael C. Bonello, former Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, Roberta Lepre, director Victim Support Malta and Simone Mizzi, executive president, Din L-Art Ħelwa.

In a press statement issued on December 11, 2013 the Guardian has added its voice to that of civil society. It has emphasised that prior to concluding and implementing piecemeal land use planning and environmental policies it is imperative that first and foremost a comprehensive holistic strategy is put in place.

Until such time as a strategic vision is in place, stated the Guardian, it would be reasonable for current policy initiatives to be put on hold.

The Guardian is diplomatic in the language it uses. It certainly makes political statements, none of which are however partisan. All environmental issues, including land use planning issues, are definitely political issues in respect of which all stakeholders have a duty to speak up.

The Guardian of Future Generations speaks up on behalf of the voiceless future. In Malta, giving a voice to the future was an initiative taken by Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party. It was acknowledged by the then Minister for the Environment Mario de Marco when piloting the Sustainable Development Act in 2012 which adopted the proposal.

If we keep living for today, ignoring tomorrow, precious resources which must be protected today, will be lost forever

Our actions today can have a considerable impact on the future. It is imperative that the choices we make today ensure that future generations can also freely make their own decisions. We cannot ethically ignore the future. If we keep living for today, ignoring tomorrow, precious resources which must be protected today will be lost forever.

Zammit Cutajar, who chairs the Guardian Commission, has in fact emphasised that: “Un-built space and unspoilt views are among the scarcest resources of our densely populated country”.

We need to be extra careful. Too many mistakes have been made in the past. The legacy of the past is tough enough. We are in time to avoid adding to it.

The Guardian announced in its press statement that, in accordance with its mandate, it has presented a submission with its views to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and other government officials. This refers to the provisions of article 8 of the Sustainable Development Act of 2012 which establishes that the Guardian shall direct the focus of the Prime Minister (who is the sustainable development competent authority) to safeguard future generations.

The Guardian is also empowered to “propose goals and actions to government entities for them to take up in order to contribute towards the goal of sustainable development.”

The next step is undoubtedly the publication by Government of the views submitted by the Guardian. It would be preferable if government took the initiative as the matter is of specific interest to the public.

Obviously if the government fails to take this initiative there is always the possibility of demanding its publication through applying the provisions of the Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment Regulations of 2005 (Legal Notice 116 of 2005). Government taking the initiative would always be preferable as this would demonstrate its willingness to engage with stakeholders.

The above is a good start to the Guardian of Future Generations making its presence felt. It is however just the tip of the iceberg.

The Guardian requires its own resources to pursue other areas of policy. Foremost among them is the sustainable management of water resources. While acknowledging that the government is currently preparing a water consultation document, it is to be emphasised that there are areas of action which cannot await the consultation process. There is little water left to protect and further procrastination will only make matters worse. Tomorrow will be too late.

In February 2012 the Auditor General had, through a performance audit, pointed out the deficiencies in the public administration of water resources. In his report entitled ‘Safeguarding Malta’s Groundwater’ the Auditor General, while noting that we have an abundance of policy documents, pointed to implementation delays as a consequence of the non-adherence to the stipulated target dates.

Not much has been done since February 2012. Obviously the political responsibility has to be shouldered by the former government which talked a lot but did not do much except commission reports. It invariably failed to take the tough action required.

Safeguarding tomorrow is a difficult task. Tomorrow’s generations, the generations of the future, have no vote, hence they have not been considered as an important constituency by those whose time horizon rarely exceeds five years. The Guardian of Future Generations has the unenviable task to sound the wake up call.

Tomorrow, which as singing doctor Gianluca Bezzina tells us, is just one day away, may be too late. All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today.

cacopardocarm@euroweb.net.mt,

http://carmelcacopardo.wordpress.com

Carmel Cacopardo is deputy chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party.

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