Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1076517
OPINION 8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 JANUARY 2019 TRAVELLING, and living in different countries has the ad- vantage of giving one the op- portunity to reflect on the positive and negative aspects one finds in his own homeland. One of the requisites of an MEP is travelling back and forth to Brussels, and splitting the days between two countries. That makes it easier to no- tice differences between one country and another. Some differences are purely geo- graphical and natural. Others are the result of political deci- sions taken in the best inter- est of the citizens. The serious lack of parks in Malta is one such difference. We are a very small island with an ever-increasing popu- lation, so it baffles me how we are able to have any appropri- ate quality of life with such a small number of national parks. This holds especially true since there have been several opportunities to rehabilitate areas which have been highly impacted by human activity or to turn landfills into parks, but several efforts fizzled out. It is even more perplexing when seen in the context of the continuous destruction of our countryside. The truth is that Malta's countryside offers an amazing and joyful spectacle. Families and friends regularly gather for Sunday picnics – typi- cally at the Ta' Qali National Park, Buskett – or go for brisk walks in our fields and valleys enjoying the rich variety of plant and animal species that exist on our tiny but beauti- ful country while our rocky areas support biodiversity and provide important natu- ral habitats and ecosystems. Unfortunately, these places are shrinking rapidly. We all know the reasons behind this. It is such a pity knowing that this problem is having an ef- fect on each one of us and yet so little is being done to salvage what we have. I now know much more about it since over the past two years I have made it a healthy habit of mine to go out for regular walks in our amazing country- side. One initiative that I call for would be to introduce new parks and sustain the few al- ready there, rather than find- ing new ways to destroy the little we have. The Govern- ment has done so little in this regard. I have been told that in several cases, sites identi- fied for such purposes end up being used for other purposes which tend to rank far higher on this government's agenda. As former Minister for the Environment, I recall that there were long term plans in the past to introduce new parks around the island even through rehabilitation of ar- eas that would have been abandoned. There is still time to pick up the pieces and save our country from becoming a concrete jungle. The clock, however, is tick- ing and it is high time to act, and act fast. When opportunities arise, such as turning our previous Maghtab landfill and others around the island, into a nature park for all to enjoy, we have to consider it seriously. Remi- niscing back to when I served as a Minister for the Environ- ment several years ago, the clo- sure of landfills and reduction of existing waste mass ranked amongst the highest in my list of priorities. The plan was to manage Malta's waste wisely and rehabilitate landfills. A perfect example of this was the initiative to kick-off the re- habilitation of the Sant'Antin landfill in Marsascala, which was later even converted into a family park. I am proud to have formed part of the Nationalist Gov- ernment that kicked off this initiative. We did not let this land go to waste, and in the words of Lawrence Gonzi, "a dump had been turned into a park." I want to congratulate the PN Local Councillors in Xaghra who took a clear posi- tion against the use of Qortin as a landfill through a motion in respect of which the Labour Councillors abstained. It is unacceptable that gov- ernment wants to reuse the area known as Tal-Qortin as a landfill. I also give merit where it is due to Wasteserv for introducing an initiative to collect organic waste. This should mean less waste will be going to landfills. The present Government boasts of an economic boom, but ignores the serious re- percussions this construction frenzy, which is what this so- called boom is all about, is causing. No wonder that when re- cently our Prime Minister list- ed what, in his opinion were the most prominent achieve- ments of the Labour govern- ment, as part of the latest social media craze - 'ten year challenge', the environment did not feature at all. It is of no surprise, given the very little it has done for the environment since being elected. Simply put, the environment is not on the government's agenda. This could very well be the reason why Malta has the worst record out of all the EU Member States in terms of municipal waste management. It could also be a contributing factor behind a recent study ranking Malta in the 38th place just after Oman, for quality of life. One could argue that qual- ity of life has little to do with the creation of new parks, waste management and the overall well-being of the en- vironment. I strongly believe that it does. Quality of life is defined as 'the standard of health, comfort and happiness experienced by an individual or group.' A booming economy and a high standard of living are important for our well-being, but a quality of life requires far more than that. Unless we change our direc- tion we will soon not have any place left to relax and unwind which will inevitably lead to higher stress levels and seri- ous health issues. Our children will have less and less spaces where to play; our air will continue to be- come heavily contaminated, our once beautiful island will become an eyesore and, be- fore we know it the damage will be irreparable. Let us take more responsible decisions to start repairing the damage already done to our environment. Let us think of the generations to come and make way for a holistic ap- proach towards our environ- ment. Francis Zammit Dimech Francis Zammit Dimech is a serving Member of the European Parliament for the Nationalist Party Parks not landfills The present Government boasts of an economic boom, but ignores the serious repercussions this construction frenzy, which is what this so-called boom is all about, is causing The landfill at Tal-Qortin in Xaghra