The proposed demerger of Mepa will see its environment protection function transferred to a new Environment and Resources Authority that will have a stronger voice in the decision-making process.

The ERA will be a regulatory authority, setting out the framework, plans and regulations for all activities, including construction and development. Its task will be to safeguard the environment within the concept of sustainable development.

There are three new elements in the demerger that aim to put environment protection in a stronger position.

First, the ERA will have the power to address the impacts of development via its representation on the board of the Development and Planning Authority – the other entity resulting from the demerger.

There will be a statutory obligation for ERA to always be consulted while it will also be given the right to appeal against any decisions taken by the other authority.

At present such rights do not exist in environmental and resources management fields. The establishment of the ERA will automatically ensure that it is a stakeholder in decision-making processes.

“The ERA will have an autonomy and identity all of its own... it can focus with greater intensity on environmental protection and conservation while helping manage our resources more efficiently,” Environment Minister Leo Brincat says in the foreword to the consultation document on the ERA.

The new ERA legislation extends the duty to protect the environment to public and private entities. It requires every government entity to implement the objectives and provisions of the new Environment Protection Act and also keep in mind national environmental targets in their plans and projects.

The ERA would ensure compliance with the Environment Protection Act and have enforcement powers.

It will also publish reports on the state of the environment, which is supposed to be published every three years by Mepa. The booklet published in 2011 reflects the situation in 2009, casting doubts on the validity of the data.

The majority of members on the ERA’s board will be independent, with knowledge and experience in the environment, environmental health, resource management, as well as social and community affairs. It is expected to have representatives from environmental NGOs or civil society.

The National Strategy for the Environment, mandated by law, will set the policy framework for the effective management of the environment and resources.

The 2012 National Environment Policy had provided the first attempt towards a national direction for the environment but had no legal framework to support it.