Coherent approach, integrated policies on environment and health needed

Environmentalists, doctors, politicians and journalists have highlighted the importance of a more coherent approach and integrated policies among entities, departments and authorities over health and environment issues. 

The debate was organised by Labour think-tank Ideat, for which a number of stakeholders and politicians were invited.

Despite an invitation sent out to government representatives, including Environment Minister Mario de Marco, no one from the government's side turned up for the event.

The panellists included environmentalist Alfred Baldacchino, biologist Victor Axiaq, engineer Kenneth Chircop, medical doctor Jason Bonnici, journalist Caroline Muscat, AD's spokesman Carmel Cacopardo and Labour MPs Leo Brincat and Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

"Health and environment are interlinked," Baldacchino said. "Our health depends on the environment we live in."

Baldacchino said that the country's administration cannot work in an "idle manner" and stressed on the need for coordination and long-term consensual planning in policies.

Medical doctor Jason Bonnici said that due to the high levels of pollution, Malta did not pass the EU test on nitrogen dioxide, and was the only country to fail the sulphur dioxide test.

"These pollutants have a direct impact on people's health, with an increase in respiratory illnesses and asthma," Bonnici said.

Bonnici said that 14% of the children aged between five and eight years suffer from wheezing: "A substantial increase of this illness was registered in the past 20 years, with the largest proportion of suffering children are found in the Grand Harbour area and in the south."

While praising the quality of the Maltese bathing waters as being the second best in the EU, biologist Victor Axiaq said that one should not ignore that the south of Malta has the worst bathing waters.

"However, this is improving and things are heading in the right direction," he said.

Axiaq also pointed out that the seas surrounding Gozo are faring worse every year.

Journalist Caroline Muscat said the media played a pivotal role in spreading information on environment and public health issues, but questioned whether it was living up to that role.

By way of example, Muscat recalled a photo sent by Health Minister Joe Cassar to the timesofmalta.com, of dog dirt on a beach.

"Politicians are privileged in the public sphere and they can influence the news they want to highlight ... dog dirt does not pose a risk to health as Heavy Fuel Oil does," Muscat said.

"However, the Health Minister decided to take a photo of an individual taking his dog for a stroll on the beach, while he never spoke on the new power station extension."

Muscat also said that government departments should not make it difficult for journalists to retrieve any information they needed if this was in the public interest.

Reacting to a pilot project announced by government to replenish the aquifer with highly-treated sewage affluent, AD's spokesman for the environment Carmel Cacopardo described the project as "dangerous".

"This is highly dangerous and shouldn't be done. We shouldn't increase the damage already done to the aquifer," he said.

Cacopardo also said that Alternattiva Demokratika believed that government-appointees should be first subject to a public hearing.

"In this way, we would reduce the chances that individuals would be appointed because of their political affiliations, while increasing their accountability."

Labour MP Leo Brincat said that the Opposition had already put forward such a proposal in parliament: "But the idea was shot down as government thought that the Opposition wanted to appoint the people we wanted, which was not the case."

Brincat also said government was doing "too little, too late" after it presented a national policy on the environment.

"At this stage of the legislature we should be discussing how the policies have worked and not discussing how they will work," he said.

The Opposition's spokesperson for health Marie Louise Coleiro Preca also expressed her support in favour of integrated policies which would provide a coherent national policy.

"Planning sectors, ministries, entities and departments cannot work independent of each other, overlapping and contradicting each other's work," she said, adding that while the policies and structures existed, yet the legislation was fragmented.