Landscape Convention ratification is a 'strong tool' for NGOs - Din L-Art Ħelwa

Din l-Art Ħelwa on Tuesday called for a “clear road-map including enforcement” on the future of the country’s landscape as it welcomed Malta’s ratification of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention 25 years after it was signed.

Last month, Malta became the 41st state party to the convention which it had signed in October 2020. The convention promotes the protection, management, and planning of landscapes and fosters international cooperation among the member states.

While noting it was still “too early” to see the pragmatic implications of the ratification, the chair of the NGO’s Heritage and Environment Protection subcommittee Alex Torpiano said it will “clearly provide a strong tool for NGOs when it comes to fighting inappropriate developments”.

The Convention was drawn up in 2000 to highlight the importance of landscapes “in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social fields” as they contribute to the formation of local cultures and – by extension form an important component of “the European natural and cultural heritage, contributing to human well-being and consolidation of the European identity”.

After the Convention was signed, DLĦ, along with 16 other signatories, had issued a manifesto urging the government to take the final step of ratification. They had pointed out that the need to protect the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the nation was specifically mentioned in the country’s Constitution.

“It was already clear at the time the manifesto was written all those years ago that the islands were heading in the wrong direction when it came to development,” Torpiano said.

In the manifesto, the NGOs had pointed out that “…planning systems have been engineered to favour speculation rather than the more fundamental needs of society”, and expressed concern about “the ever-increasing incidence of permits granted for demolition of heritage buildings, without any regard given to their architectural significance, nor to the cultural and social considerations that are important to the community”.

Torpiano noted that this ratification had “slipped through the cracks” forcing DLĦ and other NGOs to fight applications from the planning stage as far as the Courts.

He called on the government to “follow through” on its commitments. commitments: “Malta has already lost much of its landscape over the past decades, and the time is now ripe for a clear road-map – including enforcement – on how the remaining landscapes will be protected.”