Efforts by the Environment and Resources Authority continued unabated despite “financial and other constraints”, its chairman, Victor Axiak, said in an annual report.
The ERA was set up in 2016 after the planning and environment functions that used to be carried out by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority were split up. It is now the government entity on the frontline of protecting Malta’s environment.
The environment watchdog levied 11 administrative fines on individuals, commercial companies and parastatal agencies, totalling €157,845, last year
Contacted by the Times of Malta to elaborate about the constraints he mentioned, Prof. Axiak said the ERA faced challenges as part of its growing up process as a new regulator. These included budgetary constraints and human resources and, during the first three years, the watchdog went through a “phenomenal” recruitment process, the chairman said.
Such fast recruitment, he said, evidently led to challenges such as how staff would mature on the job and come to grips with the often complex environmental issues. As a new regulator, the ERA had to earn the respect of other entities, specific sectors of the community and the public, Prof. Axiak remarked.
The annual report delves into the findings of the 2018 state of the environment report and acknowledges the pressures being placed on the environment by the country’s growing population. This meant more waste was being produced and more traffic congestion, impacting the environment.
The challenge, the environment watchdog pointed out, was to find low-impact solutions that sustained the requirements of a high population density.
The state of the environment report confirmed that waste, excluding that emanating from the construction industry, was a challenge that could be tackled with action being taken in the sector. This was partly because so much of Malta’s consumables and food was imported, meaning more packaging was necessary than if such goods were made locally.
The regulator recalled that the report showed Malta was doing “incredibly well” in some areas.
Marine protected areas now covered 11 times the size of Malta and 93 per cent of all bathing waters were of excellent quality.
One of the most welcome results of the report showed there was a 98 per cent increase in environmental expenditure by the government on the 2008 level.
The environment watchdog levied 11 administrative fines on individuals, commercial companies and parastatal agencies, totalling €157,845, last year. These covered various contraventions, including non-abidance with permit conditions, pollution of the sea and removal of trees.