Church commission shuns Verdala golf course

A commission set up by the Church in Malta feels that a golf course in Verdala, Rabat, is unsustainable and a breach of land-use and other development policies.

The chairman of the Church's environment commission, Victor Asciak, said the environment impact statement on the proposed golf course failed to properly assess the negative effect of the proposed development on a number of resources.

Such resources, he explained, included hydrology, agriculture, the landscape, ecologically sensitive habitats and cultural identity.

He said that no matter how skilfully portrayed, the proposed development was not sustainable and was essentially in breach of land-use and other policies.

Prof. Asciak said one could not on the one hand stress the need for law enforcement and on the other turn a blind eye to development plans that were a clear breach of policy.

Such situations indicated a deficit in social justice and generated a lot of justified resentment and frustration among the population, who felt powerless when confronted with such exceptions to the law.

Therefore, the commission urged the decision-makers to make a bold step in favour of sustainable development by fully addressing societal concerns as well as long-term economic ones.

The commission invited decision-makers to appreciate the environmentally responsible initiatives taken up by the farmers in an attempt to halt the development planned for the site.

It also encouraged policy-makers in the tourism industry to adopt creative strategies that discovered new niche markets that were in tune with Malta's social, economic and environmental needs.

The commission report says that the information provided through the EIS could not give the proper information to decision-makers because it is often either incorrect or partial.

The report notes that the Ecclesiastical Entities (Properties) Act, 1992 clearly stated the condition for land transfer "to promote the safeguarding of the environment and the development of agriculture and to meet the country's most pressing social requirements, such as social housing and public utilities, as well as for humanitarian, educational and cultural purposes".

Prof. Asciak said that the condition "to meet the country's most pressing social requirements" was completely ignored by the EIS. Only "the safeguarding of the environment and the development of agriculture" were cited as the developer's responsibilities.

The "most pressing social requirements" were interpreted as "most pressing national requirements".

The proposal, Prof. Asciak added, could also not be considered as encouraging major improvements in agriculture and horticulture as it proposed the loss of some 50 hectares of land currently used for agriculture.

Moreover, the site was within the rural conservation area and part of it was designated as an area of agricultural value. The commission said that the most evident negative impact of the proposed development as identified by the EIS was the loss of good agricultural land. The impact was judged to be "substantial but reversible" in the sense that the golf course project as a whole could be viewed as a type of development that was reversible.

The commission believed this argument was not justified. For the proposed development was more likely to lead to a disintegration of the social and cultural community of farmers of the area in question and such disintegration and reorientation would be extremely difficult to reverse.

Although the proposed landscape changes would retain the overall openness and non-urban character, the identity of the Maltese landscape would be lost.

The commission's opinion was not necessarily adopted by the Church. Should the Church decide to adopt the commission's or another position, the bishops would issue a statement to reflect the situation, Prof. Asciak said.

The commission was presenting its report to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

A copy can be obtained from the Pastoral Secretariat at the Archbishop Curia in Floriana, tel. 2590 6506, fax. 2590 6507, e-mail: pastoral.secretariat@maltachurch.org.mt