Din l-Art Helwa slams lack of policies in new structure plan

The Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development published for consultation does not include the required policies, green NGO says.

The Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) issued by the government for public consultation is not valid, according to environment NGO Din l-Art Helwa.

The document will replace the 1992 structure plan that governs development policies in Malta and considered to be the bible for all planning policies.

But Din l-Art Helwa pointed out that the SPED does not fulfill the expectations of the Strategic Plan that is required to guide development and environment for the next two decades.

“It is deplorable that government has tried to present this document as fulfilling the needed expectations. The document is out of line with the legal requirements for SPED,” it said.

The 2010 Environment and Development Planning Act states that the Strategic Plan should set out policies and include “an explanatory memorandum giving a reasoned justification for each of the policies and proposals contained in the plans.” (Cap. 504 51c)

“The document issued by the government does not include the required policies, let alone any reasoned justification for them. Instead it only contains a list of objectives which are very similar to the objectives published in 2012 by the previous administration in preparation for the Strategic Plan,” the NGO said.

The 2012 document clearly stated that the objectives were only intended to “guide the policy formulation stage of the drawing up of a new SPED”: “It is unacceptable for the same objectives to now be presented by the government as the full Strategic Plan.”

Din l-Art Helwa said the government should go back to the drawing board and publish a proper holistic strategy to regulate the sustainable development of land and sea resources as required by law with the Environment and Planning Development Act 2010.