Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/560195
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 AUGUST 2015 12 News TIM DIACONO ENVIRONMENTAL NGO Flimk- ien ghal Ambjent Ahjar has ques- tioned whether the government had promised Jordanian develop- ers Sadeen Group a seafront loca- tion for their American University of Malta campus. "It becomes increasingly apparent from the reason for refusal of many sites suggested that the secret agree- ment signed with Sadeen promised seafront locations," FAA president Astrid Vella said in a statement. "Since when is a sea view a prior- ity for an academic institution? Are there other uses [for the campus] planned for the long term?" Originally set to take over 90,000 square metres of land in outside development zones at Zonqor, the new plans will see the campus split in two – Zonqor in Marsascala and Dock 1 in Cospicua. The campus in Zonqor will be spread over 31,000 square metres, 18,000 of which will be on ODZ land. "We are very much disappointed that, despite considerable protest, the government remains ada- mant on using ODZ land," Vella said. "While we are encouraged that farmland will not be affected, we still question why a consider- able part of the land allocated is on ODZ. Could not other avenues have been seriously considered? "When a government breaks its own laws about ODZ and fails to place the interests of its people first, entering into secret agree- ments, painting it as an educational investment when in fact it is a pri- vate business, who can one really trust? "Haven't enough scarce land re- sources and monuments been lost over the past decades? The only thing being compromised, always, with such 'developments', is the en- vironment and quality of life." She said that the AUM saga has highlighted the government's lack of vision, planning and transpar- ency. "Undoubtedly, some will have an interest in painting us as extrem- ists simply because we stick to our Where does the partial Zonqor U-turn leave Joseph Muscat and the environmental movement, ask JAMES DEBONO and MATTHEW VELLA A scale-back by Joseph Muscat on his controversial private univer- sity following a public consultation and new site selection exercise by MEPA, has drawn new battle-lines between the green lobby and the developer-friendly Labour govern- ment. May's announcement for an 'American University of Malta' by a construction firm from Jordan sent shivers down the back of the entire environmental lobby, sending 3,000 out in protest on the streets of Val- letta. Muscat, who says AUM will bring in a major foreign investment injection, has since split the 90,000 square-metre campus that was to gobble up a sizeable part of a na- tional natural park at Zonqor Point, across 18,000 square metres and to take up the forgotten Dock No. 1 waterfront in Bormla. Fair compromise? The starting point itself may have been an in- decent proposal to many, but the diminished plans for the ambitious private university, to be promoted by Sadeen and endorsed by Chi- cago's DePaul University, was itself the result of the consistent pressure applied by the organisation founded to protect countryside areas from further construction: the Front Harsien ODZ. Many of its members are veterans of the environmental front, having battled golf courses, land reclama- tion, the reckless extension of build- ing zones in 2006, fantastical ODZ developments in Gozo – the list is endless. And yet, they now face the brave new world of Labour under Joseph Muscat, self-confessed un- believer of 'gold-plated' environ- mentalism. When it comes to wel- coming foreign investors, Muscat likes to flip the house and cash in if the price is good enough. Critics may find his development model unpalatable, but his war- chest, bolstered by the Individual Investor Programme of passport sales to the global rich, will keep him in good stead with the elector- ate. But his partial U-turn on Zon- qor's university has also raised the bar on any future developments, having confirmed the strength of civil society to thwart controversial developments but also sending the message that cheap land outside- development-zones (ODZ) can be used to subsidise private develop- ments. Flip the house, and cash in. A galvanised civil society If the plans presented on Thurs- day are final, the Front Harsien ODZ and the entire environmen- tal lobby would have failed in their bid to stop all ODZ development at Zonqor point. A considerable land area of ODZ land – the equivalent of nearly three football grounds – will still be sacrificed. But the decision to scale down the ODZ intake from 90,000 square metres to 18,000 square metres sug- gests that the 3,000 strong protest has sent a strong message which the government could not ignore. In it- self this vindicates the effectiveness of public protests in bringing about changes in policy and government decisions. This on its own suggests a contra- diction between the government's readiness to twist the rules to ac- commodate developments, and its unease at being confronted by a strong reaction by civil society. Fearful of a similar reaction to that t Zonqor, the government may well proceed with greater caution in pushing developments opposed by civil society organisations. Clearly Muscat is in greater difficulty when confronting NGOs and civil society, than when facing the more predict- able Nationalist opposition. But the downscaling of the project also suggests that the government had underestimated opposition to the Zonqor proposal, announced just days after the slim 'yes' victory in the hunting referendum. Muscat's latest U-turn hides a concession that he realises that environmental- ists are a force to be reckoned with, especially when Front Harsien ODZ emerged as an organisation solely focused on public mobilisation. While radical changes to plan- ning laws made by the present government do not bode well for the environment (see also: Church says environment 'victim to MEPA demerger, Page 11) this episode shows that the strength of civil so- ciety resistance can limit the power of governments to ride roughshod over objections. The MEPA de- merger and the new Strategic Plan for Environment and Development practically weaken environmental protection and usher in a long list of permissible development, but the Zonqor episode shows that the gov- ernment is uneasy when faced by civil society protests. Into the planning machine One dilemma for environmental organizations is how to oppose the remaining ODZ part of the project, without embarking on a lost cause and being labelled 'extremists'… or as Muscat prefers, 'absolutists'. A final MEPA permit has not been issued for the project, and the au- thority can still technically refuse the project if pressure continues to mount. But the change in planning policies, including a SPED policy paving the way for ODZ develop- ments, makes approval even more likely. But the ODZ development in Zonqor – one of the largest ODZ developments in recent history – is also a litmus test for the newly cre- ated Environment Authority, which has now been granted the power to appeal against MEPA decisions. Will the new Environment Author- ity give its blessing to the loss of garigue? The other danger for environmen- talists is that if approved, the project sets a precedent for other 'compro- mise' (or phantom compromise) solutions that will still involve the take-up of more ODZ land. Checkmate at Zonqor FAA: government promised AUM developers The might of the 3,000: one of the largest-ever protests was spurred on by Joseph Muscat's unilateral decision to site a private university over 90,000 square metres of outside development zones (ODZ) at Marsaskala's Zonqor Point