Last week, the President of the Republic, laying out the programme for the brand new authorities in what is named the speech from the throne, emphasised that the setting is a core worth for this authorities. Reading by way of the speech ready by authorities, his Excellency was clear by dwelling on a lot of totally different matters of appreciable environmental significance.
However, Dr Vella was sadly not suggested as to how and when the federal government intends to deal with its steady contradictions in its drive to shift its focus from the infrastructure to the setting.
The elastic environmental politics offered by this authorities ranges from extra flyovers to reaching carbon neutrality, concurrently being depending on two interconnectors tapping the Sicilian vitality market.
Previous governments led by the Labour get together had sought to rework Malta into one other Dubai, that may be a land of excessive rises and in depth land reclamation . The try at Dubai-ification launched into by the Muscat led authorities will apparently now be reworked right into a Singaporization as emphasised by infrastructure Minister Aaron Farrugia. This is the implementation of the coverage of continuity which his Excellency was apparently not sufficiently suggested about.
The present crop will do their greatest to outshine their predecessors. Since there’s not way more land to destroy, they’ve subsequently turned their gaze in the direction of the ocean which they are going to be ruined in the end.
Preliminary research carried out prior to now had recognized the areas in Maltese waters the place land reclamation could possibly be thought of, topic to extra in-depth research. The coastal areas recognized and studied are these alongside the Magħtab/Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq shoreline and the Xgħajra/Marsaskala shoreline. These are the coastal zones which have to be watched and guarded.
The fundamental query to ask earlier than embarking on planning any land reclamation initiatives is: what do we want land reclamation for? In the previous land was reclaimed to assemble the Freeport or to shield the coast at Msida, Gżira and elsewhere.
If any new urgent want is recognized one ought to fastidiously take into account them.
The Netherlands used land reclamation efficiently to adequately handle its low-mendacity land. Hong Kong made use of land reclamation to create excessive worth land required for its airport on the Chek Lak Kok island. Through land reclamation Singapore expanded its container port, a necessary cornerstone in its financial system.
The manner to go about tackling land reclamation is thru critical public session. Labour in authorities has, thus far, solely consulted builders on land reclamation. It has, within the current previous, solely consulted those that have been searching for new methods to make a fast buck! These are the fourth-flooring guys who’re solely curious about making hay whereas the solar shines.
If authorities is critical about land reclamation it ought to instantly publish a listing of its proposed initiatives. This ought to be accompanied by a draft nationwide land-reclamation technique for public session. At this level session shouldn’t be with the hypothesis foyer: it has already been extensively consulted. Consultation at this stage ought to primarily be with environmental NGOs and the coastal communities, specifically these instantly impacted.
Having stated the above I don’t suppose that land reclamation is or ought to be a precedence. Rather, the precedence ought to be the restructuring of the development trade: particularly reducing it down to measurement and placing it to good use.
The nation can be economically, environmentally and socially a lot better off if the development trade is assisted in its a lot-wanted restructuring. It would undoubtedly want to shed labour which might be absorbed by different sectors of the financial system. Retraining can be required to ease the entry of the shed labour drive into different financial areas.
After years of haphazard and abusive land-use planning, land reclamation is the very last thing we want!
Carmel Cacopardo is Chairperson of AD + PD – The Green Party in Malta.