Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512115
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 NOVEMBER 2023 6 INTERVIEW 'Environmentalists have no place in the big parties; they end up compromising' ENVIRONMENTALISTS have no place in the major political parties because to get elected they will end up having to compromise on their beliefs, academic Alan Deidun believes. "The way the political system was de- signed, if you stick to your principles, you will become unelectable," he says. The marine biologist had tried his luck in 2009 when he contested the Europe- an Parliament election as a Nationalist candidate. Having received more than 3,000 votes on the first count, he doubled his votes before being eliminated on the 20th Count. It was not a bad run but one, which put Deidun in constant tension with his own party. That election was the first and last time Deidun dabbled with party politics, in- sisting that environmentalists attempt- ing to function within the big parties will have to compromise on their beliefs. I sit down with Deidun in the aftermath of the Mosta trees debacle that saw the local council reverse its decision to up- root and transplant 12 ficus trees in the main square after public outcry. Deidun says it is good that public pres- sure forced the reversal of the Mosta council decision but warns there is a lot more destruction which is happening away from the public eye. "We do not realise that in Outside De- velopment Zone (ODZ) areas, a lot of trees are being cut down, and a lot of land is being destroyed because of our very permissible regulatory system," Deidun insists. "The battle to save those trees may have been won, but we are losing the war." He believes the Labour and Nationalist parties are to blame for the upsurge of environmental destruction for the sake of development. "The PN extended the development zones in 2006, and it was one of its death- blows, but Labour learnt its lesson be- cause it knew that if it extended develop- ment boundaries again, it would receive backlash and so it did the same - but by stealth," Deidun says. He says Labour's 2014 amendment to local plans have led to the situation where people are using "unbelievable" excuses to develop rooms and buildings in areas which don't make sense. "Labour did not extend the areas al- lowed for development, but if you qual- ify for certain criteria such as: If you can prove people used to live in the build- ing; if you are building stables; if you are building a structure for animal husband- ry; you can build a structure. We now have farmers selling their land to people who are using it for recreational purpos- es," he says. "Nobody from the big parties can go against the developers' lobby. When the political parties say ODZ is ODZ, I take it with a pinch of salt because neither of them truly means it," he argues. The environment's destruction, he adds, is also a result of having a toothless environment authority, with proposed reforms never being carried out. "We have heard promises of the Envi- ronment and Resource Authority (ERA) getting a veto on the planning authority board, but this never happens," he says. "Minister after minister has proposed this, but it never materialises." He is also cautious when speaking about land reclamation as a solution to the country's environmental destruction. "We also must ask why we are reclaim- ing land. If we are reclaiming land for social reasons, where the whole country will benefit, 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," he says. He tried contesting the European Parliament election with the Nationalist Party but today, marine biologist Alan Deidun believes environmentalists have no place in the big parties. He sits down with KARL AZZOPARDI to talk about environmental destruction, collective hypocrisy and land reclamation. "When the political parties say ODZ is ODZ, I take it with a pinch of salt because neither of them truly means it"