Pilot projects are being planned for Buġibba, Victoria, Valletta and Ħamrun to continue promoting the restoration or reuse of existing buildings.
“Demonstration projects” will be developed for the public to see existing dwellings that were retrofitted to maximise energy and water efficiency in order to change perceptions about the feasibility and cost that such projects entail.
The government will seek to understand the reasons behind such a high number of vacant properties in the country and find other ways of encouraging property upgrades.
The government will remain strict about development boundaries so that “only land uses that specifically require a location outside the development zone, and where alternatives are not possible, will be permitted in such areas”.
Since stone is Malta’s “only natural mineral resource”, the government intends to prioritise its sustainability. By 2015, it will compile statistics on extraction and remaining stocks. It will also find a way of making sure the price of stone includes its environmental cost.
“This will encourage greater use of reused and recycled material and reduce construction, demolition and excavation waste. The cost should reflect both the lifespan of currently available mineral resources, and the environmental impacts associated with resource extraction.”
Quarry operators will be required to restore parts of their quarries in phases by next year.
Another precious resource which the environmental policy seeks to address is water which is becoming increasingly scarce on the island where borehole extraction is still rampant. While continuing to implement Malta’s Water Policy, Water Catchment Management Plan and the Nitrates Action Programme (to sustain groundwater), the government will by 2013 also develop a “management regime” to protect ecosystems in surface waters for sustainable use.
Coastal areas will also be beautified and conserved, adding at least three new Blue Flag beaches by 2014 and designating more marine protected areas.
The government will review its policy of dumping waste at sea by 2012 after an assessment of the current environmental impact.
Meanwhile, the government plans to be a “zero-waste society” by 2050 by using waste as a resource, with a number of projects already being implemented towards this aim in line with EU targets.