Environment Minister José Herrera yesterday said that his ministry was not a “land snatcher” as he addressed concerns over a White Paper which considers allowing the government to expropriate land to protect it from illegal dumping.
The White Paper proposes that in the case of afforested sites which are not suitably maintained, the government may terminate the occupancy agreement if it owns the land. If the land is privately owned, the government may expropriate it.
Under the terms of an enforcement notice,the mounds of rubble deposited in areas after 1994 and before 2012 will be replaced by indigenous trees.
“We are not aiming to bully people out of their land,” Dr Herrera told a public consultation in Salini, adding that the property would only be taken away as a last resort.
READ: More than 14,000 tonnes of wood dumped at landfill
Dr Herrera said that the proposed Bill offered the necessary tools for the regeneration of dilapidated land.
The proposal complements afforestation projects and other initiatives, such as in Comino.
“This consultation process is taking place because we believe that the principles associated with these regulations are the direction we want to take,” Dr Herrera said.
We are not aiming to bully people out of their land
Transport Minister Ian Borg said there were over 370 cases of illegal dumping on more than 190 sites. Rules had to be drawn up and decisions had to be taken, he added, insisting that consultation worked in favour of transparency.
Dr Borg encouraged people to participate at this “essential stage”. He also expressed disappointment at those who illegally dump waste.
In the course of the consultation, Claude Ebejer proposed the authorities use Google Maps to detect abuse from aerial images.
Vanya Veras, from Municipal Waste Europe, raised questions on how the waste found in the areas would be disposed of.
Dr Herrera replied that any inert material could be reworked into blocks. Specifications on a new waste incinerator would be put forward in the coming weeks, he added.
READ: A hazardous waste landfill earmarked as a stop-gap solution
Architect Jesmond Mugliett has been enlisted by the Environment Ministry to help generate new ideas on dealing with Malta’s waste problem.
Several NGOs raised concerns about afforesting various sites, saying that proper consideration needed to be given to the biodiversity that would emerge as a result.
The Maltese genotype is at risk of being left by the wayside, Mr Ebejer said. Importing trees could have a negative effect on the local environment and its micro-species, and afforestation needed the input of ecologists.
Inwadar National Park chairman Steve Borg said that afforestation could be used effectively to implement carbon sequestration – a practice which naturally removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
This was an opportunity to target carbon emissions from traffic, he said.
The public consultation on the proposed Action on Illegal Deposit of Material on Land and Illegal Reclamation of Land Regulations ends on January 22.
Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Chris Agius closed off the discussion by thanking the stakeholders and insisting that abuse on government land must stop. Mr Agius mentioned as an example the ditches surrounding the Three Cities in Cottonera, which need to be appropriately safeguarded.