Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/513060
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 MAY 2015 15 development proposed by Gasan- Fenech), the Mosta Technopark hypermarket opposite Hal Mann, to a projected hypermarket at Zokrija, Mosta…). "All such estab- lishments are of course powerful magnets for cars. And all along, the industry is gobbling up a rap- idly wasting asset: land." Our addiction to construction, he seems to be suggesting, has forced Malta into a vicious circle. More projects entail further strain on the infrastructure, with pejora- tive effects on traffic, air pollution, noise pollution, and ultimately the quality of life as a whole. At this point I cannot help de- tecting a note of defeatism in his outlook. Surely there are some respects in which the state of the environment has improved in re- cent years? "There has been some improve- ment, certainly. From the informa- tion and public awareness aspects, the local environmental situation is definitely getting better. The public in general, and the NGOs in particular, are now quite adept at digging out information from lo- cal and international sources. This ability has been particularly useful in the case of EU sources, given that our governments have a habit of sending reports to Brussels but not informing locals of their con- tents." The flipside, he adds, is that the EU has not always been the envi- ronmentalist's dream source of in- formation. "We have often asked for reports from the Environment Commis- sioner's office – reports sent from here, like the annual Air Quality report – only to be told that they are not at liberty to disclose such information, while at the same time expressing surprise that our government has not informed us itself…" But in other aspects Mallia also discerns a notable downward spi- ral. "From the actual state of the environment aspect, there can be little doubt that the situation is going steadily downhill. All sorts of pressures act on our eco sys- tem: that of a small, heavily popu- lated barren rock in the middle of an increasingly stressed sea, with weather links to neighbouring land masses north and south, which often carry trans-border pollut- ants…" Could it also be, however, that the environmentalist lobby it- self is also gradually dispersing or weakening? Consider, for instance, the large-scale protests over en- vironmental issues some 10 or 15 years ago: against the proposed golf courses in Manikata and (even earlier) Verdala. Or the massive outcry against the ODZ extension in 2006, for that matter. All this seems to have faded somewhat into the distance since the change in government in 2013. There just doesn't seem to be the same level of commitment to environmental issues today. Couldn't it be argued, then, that environmentalist lobbies have simply given up? Mallia nods almost wearily, as if to suggest that he has heard this line of reasoning before. "I would dare to suggest, however, that it is a superficial judgment of the situation. This apparent 'weak- ening' of the environmental lobby you talk about, this argument that people were until fairly recently more willing to protest, etc… it's the sort of argument you will see on the The Malta Independent comments board under Daphne Caruana Galizia's column… even the defeat in the [spring hunting] referendum has been taken as an- other sign of 'weakening', at least by those who had great faith in the accuracy of the MaltaToday polls…" Mallia however asserts that this view does not take into considera- tion the enormity of the political pressure that was brought to bear on the campaign. "These arguments do not address the interventions during the cam- paign by the Prime Minister and the Labour Party. In one or two cases that came to my attention here in Attard, telephone pressure was exerted on voters…" He also doubts whether commit- ment to environmentalist issues can accurately be measured by mass demonstrations alone. "For a start, street protests are not the be-all-and-end-all of en- vironmental activism. Meanwhile there is no doubt that the reforms the present government has em- barked on are exerting a huge pres- sure on NGOs. The effort to deal with government press releases, MEPA consultation documents, MEPA Environmental Impact As- sessments, the need to put in an appearance as registered objectors at MEPA board meetings… all this is severely straining the resources of even the best-equipped NGOs, leaving us little time to organise street protests every week." Here he reminds me that there are other means of protest that do not involve taking to the streets. "Josanne Cassar, writing in a re- cent issue of MaltaToday, coined the term 'keyboard warriors'… from the comfort of her own key- board, of course, not from some laptop she was carrying in a street demonstration…" Meanwhile, the perception of environmentalists as a dying breed does not stand up to the reality that NGOs are slowly consolidat- ing into a much more compact confraternity. One recent example was the formation of Terra Firma, a collective of environmental NGOs which aims to put forward a united voice on green issues. "We are making some headway with the creation of the Terra Firma Cooperative, but as yet the effective power still lies with indi- vidual NGOs. These do not always abstain from selfish moves, to the detriment of the broader commu- nity. All the same, despite mount- ing pressure I see no sign that we, the NGOs, are going to break, or that the environment has reached a point of no return. But I may be wrong, being merely mortal…" Ever the philosopher, Edward Mallia leaves me with a few choice pearls of literary wisdom. "As for my own personal mood, if it is of any interest, I can refer you to two texts. Psalm 23: 'For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of the valley of death, I shall fear no evil…' And the final stanza of William Blake's 'Jerusa- lem': 'I shall not cease from mental strife, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusa- lem…', etc." Interview Environmental protection in Malta seems to have hit an all-time low. But activist EDWARD MALLIA argues that there is still much to fight for PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD