The skill of pruning trees is not recognised in Malta. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

An educational campaign on the benefits of trees is necessary because demands to chop them down are often motivated by the fact that they spoil the view, according to the Malta Embellishment and Landscaping Project.

“You have no idea how many complaints we receive from people who want us to remove trees because they are blocking their view,” the MELP’s Christino Azzopardi told a seminar on roadside trees yesterday.

“We generally ask them which came first: you or the trees? We try to stick to our roots.

“We also receive many complaints about bird droppings. This is a problem encountered everywhere, even abroad.

“That is why an educational campaign about the benefits of trees is really needed,” Mr Azzopardi said.

Silvio Scicluna, also from the MELP, said not enough importance was being given to trees because of practical issues, time frames and lack of information.

“Also, the skill of pruning is not recognised in Malta. As things stand, anyone who owns a chainsaw can prune trees,” he added.

Speaking at the seminar, organised by Transport Malta in collaboration with Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi acknowledged the need to strike a sustainable balance between building new roads and retaining the natural habitat.

With due consideration, trees and shrubs can be relocated instead of being destroyed

“We have often received criticism when uprooting trees to make space for infrastructural projects. There are instances where, inevitably, one has to make way for the other but, with due planning, care and consideration, trees and shrubs can be relocated instead of being destroyed.

Transport Malta personnel, he continued, closely supervised the relocation works of most of the olive trees along the Kennedy Drive stretch.

“Despite our efforts to save these trees, the project unfortunately did require the uprooting of three ficus and four pine trees. We were criticised for this. However, subterranean investigations revealed that the roots of these seven trees had, over the years, grown around the sanitary sewer pipes.”

FAA coordinator Astrid Vella said that many do not make the connection between trees and the reduction of air pollution, which is responsible for 25 per cent of heart-related problems as well as asthma and cancer.

Trees also have a positive impact on a person’s mental health and well-being.

They lower blood pressure and bring about hormonal changes that reduce one’s susceptibility to illness.

“I therefore ask architects to keep this in mind when planning projects,” said Ms Vella.