Malta is spending less of its budget on environmental protection than it was in 2012, with expenditure in the sector taking an €86 million nosedive last year.
Figures released on Tuesday by the National Statistics Office reveal that, however way it is measured, environmental protection expenditure declined dramatically in 2016.
In total, the government spent a shade over €100 million on issues such as waste and water management, cutting pollution, protecting bio-diversity and environmental research that year.
Malta spent roughly 1.4 per cent of its GDP on environmental protection back in 2012, and just 1 per cent in 2016.
That expenditure figures tallies neatly with the €100 million spent in 2012 and is lower than environmental spending in each subsequent year, which was rising gradually to reach €187 million in 2015 before the sudden crash.
How does that compare to overall spending?
When environmental protection spending numbers are compared to Malta's GDP, which has grown strongly over 2012-2016 period, the numbers are even more concerning.
Malta spent roughly 1.4 per cent of its GDP on environmental protection back in 2012, and just 1 per cent in 2016.
When compared to government spending overall, outlay on environmental protection has also declined steeply.
In 2012, the government was spending 3.3 per cent of its money on such measures. That climbed to 3.6 per cent in 2014 and reached its zenith in 2015, when 4.9 per cent of government spending went towards environmental measures.
Now, the government is spending just 2.7 per cent of expenditure on environmental protection - roughly as much as it dedicated to recreation, culture and religion.
Why such a sudden decline?
The figures suggest Malta's spending on environmental protection measures are extremely reliant on EU funds.
Money from Brussels poured into Malta over the previous years, gradually turning into a torrent in 2015 as the government worked overtime to ensure all funds from the 2007-2013 cycle were tapped.
When EU funds slowed to a trickle in 2016, it appears the environmental protection spending well ran dry.
In its general release, the NSO noted that public spending was higher overall in 2015 than in 2016 because of this.
Where is the money going?
Of the €100 million the government spent on the environment last year, €61 million went towards waste management, with another €20 million going towards waste water and €18 million dedicated to protecting bio-diversity. Less than €1 million went towards pollution abatement, with research and development having to settle for scraps - €67,000.
How does that compare to previous years?
Spending on biodiversity protection has remained fairly constant over the five year period reviewed by the NSO. It rose from just under €17 million to €18 million in 2013, and has remained there ever since.
Waste management spending has risen slightly, from €52 million in 2012 to €61 million in 2016. But the latter figure is lower than the €66 million of 2014 and far, far lower than 2015's €105 million outlay.
Spending on waste water management was more than halved in 2016, falling from a high of €105 million in 2015 to just €20 million in the latest year under review - lower than even 2012's €27 million.
Pollution abatement was essentially non-existent in 2012, with then NSO recording expenditure of just €11,000 that year, with that figure actually falling into negative figures the following year. But a strong rebound to €3.8 million in 2014 and subsequent doubling to €7.2 million in 2015 has been decimated, with just €808,000 spent on such measures in 2016.