Din l-Art Ħelwa president Simone Mizzi yesterday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

These are “most anxious times” for conservationists, who have to witness Malta’s environment suffer, land dwindle, coastline cemented and awful quality buildings built in haste that mostly remain empty, according to Din l-Art Ħelwa president Simone Mizzi.

In a passionate speech delivered yesterday during the NGO’s annual general meeting, Ms Mizzi presented a check list for the government to use “if it wants to show its intent to work with the environment”.

“DLĦ has never been against development, as long as it is necessary, as long as it brings quality, and as long as it does not destroy our unique identity,” she said.

“Yet open space is scarce. While hiding behind the right given to it by a great electoral majority, this government’s obsession that it wants to see innovation in building to boost the economy is becoming a bit of a broken record.”

She urged the government to complete the new Structure Plan, explain it to the public, allow comment and truly listen by taking comments and acting on them.

“We await it with eager minds but also caution because in the past year we have not heard a single word in favour of the environment.”

Among the list of proposals, Ms Mizzi asked for the process to be started to extend Malta’s protected National Parks from the Majjistral Park in the northwest of Malta right down to Wied iż-Żurrieq.

She called on the government to establish a Marine Spatial Plan, especially in view of intended land reclamation schemes.

“This request by Malta’s Environment and Planning Commissioner in the Ombudsman’s office was disappointingly brushed aside by the Prime Minister.”

Ms Mizzi asked authorities to instruct the National Statistics Office and Mepa to register data on land use by construction, both within and outside the Outside Development Zones: “This invaluable tool stopped in 2006, I wonder why? A self-respecting Structure Plan cannot be done without such basic information.”

Ms Mizzi asked for four more Marine Protected Areas to be added to the established four.

These included Ċirkewwa, areas in Xlendi from past Ta’ Ċenċ to Mġarr ix-Xini, as well as the Delimara peninsula from Xifer l-Infern to Ras il-Fenek.

“Activate and regulate the four already established marine parks so that they are not just circles on paper.”

While acknowledging work already done, Ms Mizzi asked for the scheduling of built and natural heritage assets to be stepped up, and for protected views to be established.

“With space dwindling, these must include the buffer zones for areas of high landscape areas, archaeological sites, for Urban Conservation areas and the sightlines of our dominating church domes, which is such a unique feature of our baroque heritage.

“Once we build around these, this part of Malta’s identity is lost forever.”

She called for the protection of rural hamlets from the impending modern invasion and asked for incentives to be stepped up to regenerate urban conservation schemes.

Incentives for restoration project sponsors should be created by increasing tax benefits, while a Style Guidance Committee should judge designs on innovation and national identity.

“Give a five-year moratorium and grants to remove all aluminium apertures forthwith and ban the wretched material, regulate our partiality for kitsch colour schemes and regulate visual clutter,” she said.