One in two Maltese find it hard to access a green space

Respondents in a Eurobarometer survey carried out in May were asked how easy or difficult it is for them to access nature and green spaces: in Malta, only 51% claim that access to green spaces is easy.

In the rest of the EU, more than three in four respondents found it easy to access nature and green spaces, with the percentage go up to over 91% in 17 member states.

But in Malta, only one in two respondents find accessing green spaces easy. In contrast 22% of Maltese say it is ‘very difficult’ for them to access nature while 27% say it is ‘rather difficult’.

Overall, in the EU only one in ten (9%) say it is difficult for them to access nature and green spaces.

Respondents in Denmark say this access is easy (100%), as do 99% in Slovenia, Finland and Sweden. At the other end of the scale 51% of respondents in Malta, 76% in Romania and 77% in Portugal say the same.

The surveys shows that respondents in northern and western areas of the EU are the most likely to find it easy to access nature and green spaces, while those in the more arid Mediterranean and Eastern Europe are more likely to find it difficult.

The Maltese are among the most likely in Europe to feel personally exposed to the impacts of climate change. While in the EU 37% feel directly exposed, the percentage rises to 63% in Malta. The Maltese come second in Europe after the Portuguese (64%) when feeling personally exposed to climate change.

Another survey held last year had shown that the Maltese are the most likely in Europe to report having to walk “more than half an hour” to reach the nearest green space.

While only 3% of all EU respondents reported having to walk more than 30 minutes, in Malta 21% reported having to walk the same distance. And while 50% of all European live within a 5-minute distance of the nearest green space, in Malta only 22% report living in such proximity to green spaces.

The present government is committed to invest €700 million in urban greening projects over the next seven years amidst rising concern on the loss of green spaces to development and increased building density in Maltese towns and villages.

An agency called Project Green was set up last year to coordinate the proposed investment, which includes several ambitious projects to shift main roads underground and build gardens above them.

Artist impressions and plans for the first of these projects along San Gwann’s main road were unveiled earlier this year, however, no timeline has yet been set for the project to get underway.

The ambitious proposals mentioned in the electoral manifesto, included plans to roof over part of the road just outside the Santa Venera tunnels and shift St Anne Street in Floriana underground.