Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512115
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 NOVEMBER 2023 7 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. Scan this QR Code to watch the full interview What is the biggest threat to ODZ today? Small-scale development, and it is a flood which NGOs cannot handle. You have thou- sands of applications approved every week and it is impossible to keep up. The Environment and Resource is objecting to all these kinds of developments, but noth- ing happens. We are always told that ERA will be given the veto, but this never mate- rialises. It will remain in the shadow of the Planning Authority, and I don't see things changing. There is the phenomenon where we complain about the uproot- ing of the Mosta trees, but God forbid someone tries to stop my development… I call it collective hypocrisy. The trees in the Mosta square are there, and don't bother an- yone, but if I inherit a field where I can build on, I apply for a development immediately. We are becoming dependant on something that is breaking us… Do environmentalists have a place in the big parties? In 2009 I would have thought so, but today, definitely no. You can never change the par- ty. I may be pessimistic here, but I had a taste of the political life, and those six months opened my eyes. No matter how many good proposals you have, you will lose or change some of your principles. The way the political system was designed, to get elected, if you stick to your principles, you will become unelectable. You have two choices: either stay with a par- ty, stick to your principles and use the plat- form to deliver your message and become unelectable, or try to get into a position of power and enact change, but you must com- promise on your principles. Land reclamation is proposed as a solution to counter the pressure placed on ODZ. What are your thoughts? It depends where you do it. We have re- claimed land in Malta before – Msida, the Freeport, Marsaxlokk's hard standing facil- ity, but all in ports. In ports, the ecosystem is already impacted... Outside ports the cur- rents have a major impact, and we shouldn't treat the sea the same as land. On land, the area you are working on is affected, but in the sea, the footprint and spill over is much wider. If we reclaim land in Bahar ic-Caghaq, the coast along the Eastern side of the islands will be impacted as a lot of fine sand is scat- tered. We don't have good practice in this sector. People will argue that other countries like Dubai, Holland, Singapore have all re- claimed land, but one has to see how they use their sea compared to us. We use it for diving, swimming and fishing. It is the last frontier... We also have to ask why we are re- claiming land. If we are reclaiming for social reasons, where the whole country will bene- fit, I think that is justified, but if we are doing it to build a hotel, or a yacht marina, I don't think it's worth it. You also need the material to reclaim land, and despite what we think, we don't have enough as you need a big mass at one go, not little by little. We would probably need to go for a major project which can generate that much material. There are a lot of question marks. If the where and why are answered, then we can discuss the possibility, but the locations in Malta are few. PHOTO: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY