Four environmental organisations said this morning it was not true they had given their unconditional support to the splitting of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Ramblers’ Association, Friends of the Earth and MOAM said in a statement that, in a bid to justify the new Mepa laws, which increased politicians’ stranglehold on planning and environment, the government was giving incorrect and misleading messages.
They said they were willing to consider the split as long as it strengthened the environment sector which had always been practically ignored or had to give way to development interests.
“The split or ‘demerger’ as now being proposed weakens the protection of environment even further, with the new Environment Authority being reduced to just another government entity to be consulted at whim,” they said.
They also said that statements that the new laws would enable NGOs to appeal against Mepa decisions were not correct.
“This right is in fact strictly limited to applications where Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs) or Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control assessments are required. These make up only a fraction of Mepa’s caseload. This number may be further reduced by Mepa’s recent tendency to release applicants from the necessity to prepare an EIA as in Gaffarena’s 35-warehouse development.
“The reality is that by sidelining the Environment Authority, the new regulations further weaken the protection of Malta’s out of development zones and the environment in general. The new law also ignores the impact of development on residents, as social impact is completely left out of the matters to be taken into account in the new spatial strategy policy.”
The NGOs said that the overriding drive of the new planning legislation was to strengthen the minister’s control over planning matters, not only through the appointment of board members, but also in the granting or withholding of information to the public.
“Politicians have no place at Mepa; policies and decisions should be left to technical experts, with the backing of professional and impartial studies which have been missing from all recent policies. Politicians, on the other hand, are ever more prominently present.
“The only reform that will make a difference to Malta’s open spaces, to improving the well-being of residents, supporting tourism and the economy, is a reform in politicians’ real commitment to the environment,” they said.