Looking back at 2015: The year of the green awakening

It was the year when for the first time in its history, Malta was 2,000 votes short of abrogating a law through a referendum seeking the abolition of the spring hunting derogation which both major parties support. 

A cold shower to activists, but the ability of civil society to set in motion a referendum that was a few votes short of a successful outcome clearly rang the alarm bells of the political establishment. Weeks after the referendum, the PM himself proceeded to stop the spring hunting season in the most arbitrary way after a protected bird fell in the grounds of a private school.

It was the year Malta saw the largest ever environmental protest organised by the newly set up Front Harsien ODZ, followed by the government partially backtracking by downscaling the take up of ODZ land for the American University of Malta, from 90,000 to 18,000 square metres. Clearly the government had found more opposition than it had anticipated when it announced the project in the aftermath of the referendum. Rather than beaten down, civil society rose back from the ashes of the referendum like a phoenix.

A proposed airstrip in Gozo was put on the back burner – and so far the government has refrained from proceeding with land reclamation plans. No further details emerged on an EOI for the redevelopment of the White Rocks site, which abuts on Natura 2000 areas. A revision of the local plans is still in the offing, as the government seems to be reluctant on reopening the Pandora’s box of ODZ boundaries. It seems that on land use issues, the government prefers to test the ground, revising its initial plans on the basis of the opposition and support such proposals elicit.

Some projects are cautiously making their way up the agenda, like the proposed Gozo tunnel and the proposed motosport track. On both issues the government can count on widespread support to counter environmental objections, suggesting a divide-and-rule tactic on the part of the government.

More high-rise development has been proposed in Tigné and Mriehel which, while penalising residents and raising concern about the impact on the landscape, it may also excite the Dubai fantasies among a section of the population.

While the balance tipped on the side of environmentalists when it came to public mobilisation and sympathy, institutionally the scales of the balance continued to tip the other way. Planning rules were changed in a way which further weakened environmental protection in the planning process. The reform saw the removal of the blanket ban on sanctioning illegalities in ODZ and protected areas which came in place in 2011 and removed the obligation of applicants to seek the consent of land owners when presenting planning applications.

The only silver lining is the birth of a new environmental authority, although toothless in planning issues, may increase the focus on other issues like air quality and water conservation.

Land use remained the most controversial aspect of the government’s environmental policy. While improvements have been registered in air quality following the closure of the Marsa power station, the country failed to take any concrete action on water issues, apart from pitting the importance of this issue against land use, with Joseph Muscat saying: “We can build lands and tear them down but we can never recuperate the water lost. No one is talking on the real issue and how we’re risking water scarcity.”

In the meantime more data has emerged confirming higher than admissible levels of mercury in the surrounding sea and higher than admissible levels of nitrates in Malta’s natural streams.