Din l-Art Helwa: Labour’s environmental credentials ‘non-existent’

The government's vision for Malta appears to be based on Dubai's urban landscape, says environment and heritage watchdog Din l-Art Helwa in a statement following the recently launched policy on high buildings, known as the Floor Area Ratio policy.

"In the last few months the government has incessantly promoted initiatives to increase and facilitate development everywhere, but not a single initiative to protect our environment from over-development has been put forward. So far, the government's environmental credentials are non-existent," Din l-Art Helwa said. 

Din l-Art Helwa said that the other, draft policy guidelines for buildings in ODZ were an attempt to justify construction in rural areas and instead of safeguarding the countryside, "the government is actively seeking all possible ways to exploit it. Following in its heels, the draft policy for tall buildings published yesterday has the potential to completely transform Malta's urban landscape."

The NGO stated that it would have been more appropriate for the government to set up a 'ministry for over-development' rather than a 'ministry for sustainable development' as regulations will encourage more building rather than balance it, exacerbate congestion in built up areas and take further urbanisation into rural areas. 

"The FAR policy and ODZ policy are just two of numerous regulations being launched that ride roughshod over the current structure plan and with no social and environmental impact assessments that should accompany a new one," Din l-Art Helwa said.

"We find government's haste to promote such policies unacceptable and we call on it to refrain from their promotion."

The NGO urged all members of the public who have the environment at heart to join Din l-Art Helwa and other environment NGOs at the protest march in favour of the Environment which is to take place at 10.30 am on Saturday 30th November starting at City Gate, Valletta.