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MT 3 April 2016

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 APRIL 2016 40 This Week I was pondering what to focus on for our Notebook's 500th edition when this incredible record came in: a white-crowned black wheatear at Majjistral. It's a small black-and-white bird with no unusual physical features. And it doesn't hail from the antipodes either – it occurs in stony sub-desert country just across the sea in North Africa. So what's so incredible about it? Well there's rare and there's rare, and for Malta the white-crowned black wheatear (M: kuda rasha bajda) is right up there among the very rarest. This species had only been seen once before in Malta, in 1872 (Custer was still hunting down Indians on the prairies back then!). And here it was again, throwing poses for birdwatchers for a day or so before it disappeared again. Nobody knows how it turned up here because this species doesn't normally migrate. The strong wind? A travel bug? Birds do this sometimes and we don't always know why. In last week's Notebook we crowned the cream-coloured courser as this year's Easter present. Well move over Nankina, you've been trumped! GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 403: FIND OUT MORE – HTTP://WWW.FOEMALTA.ORG/LINKS/ CHOCOLATE The project "Supply Cha!nge – Make Supermarkets Fair!" is realized with the financial support of the European Commission and supported by the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs, and Civil Liberties. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Friends of the Earth Malta and the SupplyChainge Consortium and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the funders. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Raymond Vella 500. WHITE-CROWNED BLACK WHEATEAR Two-faced environmental corruption JORG SICOT AT a time when virtually every newspaper front page features an article related to corruption, let's focus on the two hands of environ- mental corruption in Malta: the one hand that commits corruption, and the other hand which silently tolerates it. The Maltese environment – our landscapes, the sea surrounding us, the air we breathe – belongs to each and everyone of us. Just as we have received these blessings in a healthy state from our ancestors, it is our responsibility to pass them on in an equal or better state to the genera- tions who follow us. Sadly, in every political scenario, there will always be power- and money-hungry individuals who tend to forget that. Who have no qualms about selling away parts of our shared heritage to ensure a profit, either for themselves, or for developers to whom they owe something. What these politicians conveniently "forget" is that the en- vironment does not belong to them alone. The environment belongs to the whole nation. Politicians are elected to work in our interest, not their own or of their clique. This basic principle often falls by the wayside. But then, there is the second hand of environmental corrup- tion, which bears the name of our silence. Our apathy and lack of ac- tion when we see abuse. It is not enough to mutter threats under our breath, or to reason that those politicians will feel our anger come the next election. Over five years ir- reparable damage to our surround- ings can be inflicted, if we do not flag up abuse as soon as we become aware of it. And we cannot keep making excuses – that it's no use, that we'll only be ignored, that we'll make ourselves unpopular. Our en- vironment is extremely precious – our health depends on it. We need to fight for it! Proclaiming angrily via social media that eNGOs should be tak- ing action does not cut it either. NGOs are the standard bearers in a struggle that is our collective responsibility. The numerous ac- tively engaged NGOs are not paid to ensure our well-being, while our politicians, on the other hand, are being paid rather handsomely by our taxes to do so. So what stops us from getting active, and pressuring our local and national governments when another tree is endangered, or another landscape falling victim to abusive development? Most NGOs have carved their mark in society through long years of research, studying laws, formu- lating opinions, lobbying politi- cians, organising educational con- ferences. They are eager to share their knowledge to support the citizen in fighting battles against corruption. But they are there to support us, not to fight our battles. Sitting back and doing nothing, or the bare minimum of voting every five years, is just as harmful as the actions of the few that are actively corrupting the environment for their personal gain. When that next case of environmental corruption surfaces, as it surely will, it may be wise to take a long look in a mirror, and begin to understand that when we remain silent we are the second hand which allows that first hand to corrupt our environment. As Arch- bishop Desmond Tutu said: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the op- pressor." Jorg Sicot is a Committee Member of Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar What politicians conveniently 'forget' is that the environment does not belong to them alone, but to the whole nation

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