Responsibility for the environment

The contributions to The Sunday Times by Dr Francis Zammit Dimech's ministry clearly show that the minister considers the environment as just a public relations matter which can be dealt with by his communications officer, Joe Zahra.

Dr Zammit Dimech is either not bothered by the grave environmental problems which plague this country or else he is unprepared to answer directly the many legitimate questions raised by the Opposition. His elusive behaviour will not absolve him of his personal responsibility for his government's disastrous environmental record.

Nobody would want to be in Mr Zahra's shoes, but I have to respond to his contribution in The Sunday Times (November 17) to clarify matters. Mr Zahra's contribution represents a classical case of political amnesia coupled with a lack of historical perspective on global environmental issues.

This is aggravated by a total misunderstanding of present environmental problems, devoid of foresight to cope with future problems. In short, Mr Zahra's article is a reflection of Dr Zammit Dimech's dismal approach to past, present and future environmental problems.

Mr Zahra starts with the past by stating that in the Seventies, the Labour government had opened Maghtab and Wied Fulija landfills (Mr Zahra also mentions a landfill opened at Marsascala, although this was closed under Labour after only five years).

The PN keeps using such historical details and half-truths to absolve itself of its present irresponsible record in waste management.

If Mr Zahra wants to delve into history, then he should realise that landfills have existed in Malta even before 1938, in localities such as Luqa, Ic-Cumnija, Kappara and San Gwann. Many were actually closed under Labour.

They can hardly be described as a phenomenon "occurring" only during Labour administrations. For example, Qortin landfill, which is still operational in Gozo, was opened in 1968 under the PN!

Mr Zahra tries to blame Labour for the mismanagement of Maghtab, while ignoring the global lack of awareness on environmental issues during the Seventies (30 years ago!). Indeed, most landfills around the world were not managed or designed any better than Maghtab. In the Seventies, the concept of an engineered landfill was in its infancy in the United States, and only many years later did this concept for improved disposal methods spread to Europe.

Therefore, in the Seventies, the landfill problem in Malta was no different from that of advanced European countries. Today, after 16 years of PN neglect, Malta's landfill problem is much worse than that of advanced European countries and can only be compared to the poorer parts of Europe, such as Greece, which has over 2,000 sub-standard landfills. EU membership did very little to improve the overall landfill management situation in that country!

We should be very sceptical of the PN's promises of an improved environment should Malta join the EU. If there are dreamers among us who believe in the PN's cheap propaganda, a visit to Greek landfills which have remained festering since that country joined the EU may bring them back to reality.

More dreams are being manufactured by the Malta-EU Information Centre in a full-page advert (by co-incidence overleaf to Mr Zahra's article) on Malta's negotiations with the EU on the environment. The advert paid by taxpayers' money muddles up the purpose of the EU Landfills Directive and states that by 2004 Malta and Gozo will each have a landfill for construction waste!

The EU Directive nowhere mentions landfills specifically for construction waste. Indeed, they are prohibited under the same EU Directive! A correction by MIC for its public misinformation is now expected.

A Labour government knows that our country's problems will only be solved by us because they are our problems, not the EU's. With this in mind, in 1996 the Labour government had commissioned the University of Bari to carry out studies to close and restore Maghtab. This study, which could have been implemented, was instead ignored by Dr Zammit Dimech when the PN was elected in government.

The only ongoing study on landfills is the Maghtab "X-ray" project, which is costing taxpayers a quarter of a million liri (where is the promised EU funding?). According to Dr Zammit Dimech, this study will reveal where the hazardous waste is located in Maghtab, so that the rest can be removed and put to some good use. Impossible, claim the British consultants hired by Government on this project.

Dream on, Dr Zammit Dimech, along with MIC and other EU hopefuls, but don't expect us to join you in fantastic dreams which are becoming nightmares for taxpayers and our environment.

Mr Zahra than accuses Labour of increasing salinity levels in our ground water. Admittedly, rapid economic development and increased tourist arrivals under Labour governments had put a strain on our water resources. But Labour also had solutions for this problem. Reverse osmosis plants were introduced precisely to ease pressure on ground water.

But we are also future-oriented (Mr Zahra is more interested in the past because Dr Zammit Dimech offers very little for our future!). Labour's environment policy document states that legal action should be taken against those responsible for over extraction of ground water. Is Dr Zammit Dimech prepared to do this?

Coming to the present, Mr Zahra claims that seawater quality has improved greatly in the past nine years! The State of the Environment Report 2002 issued by government shows how the real statistics on our deteriorating quality of seawater have been manipulated.

Since 1996, the number of bathing water monitoring stations decreased by 26 per cent! How can Dr Zammit Dimech's ministry speak of a real improvement when many of the worst contaminated coastal sites are no longer monitored?

Still fresh in our minds is the downpour of volcanic ash and dust spewed from Mount Etna. I criticised Government for being unprepared for this phenomenon, especially since scientists had predicted increased volcanic activity for Europe's largest volcano.

Malta was fortunate that wind direction blew most of the dust towards the east, where it wreaked havoc as it settled on the Greek islands. Next time we could be less fortunate.

However, certain 'journalists' and others on Government's paylist have tried to hide the PN's incompetence by ridiculing my concern over the health hazard created by volcanic dust. Rather than jest about erecting a giant umbrella (as remarked by the director for Civil Protection), Government should show some consideration and respect for asthma sufferers and other persons with respiratory problems.

Meanwhile, the Sicilians have issued warnings to persons with respiratory problems which are aggravated by volcanic dust. This should have been the approach taken locally, had Government bothered to call a meeting of the Civil Protection scientific committee.

Apparently, Government could not care less for these unfortunate people, whose number is alarmingly on the increase, according to a statement issued recently by the Medical Association (MAM). Shame on Government!

When we consider the future of the environment under the PN, we can think only of dark, hazardous clouds. We had a suggestion from EU consultants to make large-scale incineration our main waste disposal method. This would have required that Malta imports waste to keep its incinerator operating.

Mr Zahra hides the fact that only strong local opposition to incineration (for which we have to thank our NGOs) resulted in this method not being included in the Solid Waste Management Strategy devised by EU consultants. NGOs should note that if Malta joins the EU, their opposition to Brussels' recommendations (for incineration) will have to be brushed aside by Government so as not to jeopardise funding.

NGOs and environmentalists have proved to be the environment's defence system. However, when a few of these decide to make partisan political statements to indulge the PN, my response will also have to be political.

Mr Zahra's scaremongering about dismissal of environmentalists under a Labour government is nonsense. I advise Mr Zahra to look at the departments falling under Dr Zammit Dimech for cases of heartless retribution, transfers and political discrimination in response to even the slightest dissent.

If the PN tries to hide the skeletons in its cupboard, Labour will exhume them. Recently, I publicised the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's shameful approval (without an environment impact assessment!) for the importation of hazardous waste from oil rigs.

This drilling waste will consist of rock cuttings contaminated with oil, toxic biocides, heavy metals and even radioactivity. All this will be imported to Malta and turned into concrete blocks which presumably will end up in our streets.

Malta will risk becoming the dumping ground of the Mediterranean when we already have enough problems with our waste. But anything can happen under the PN as long as their inner circle of friends' benefit!

Labour offers an alternative to the PN's disregard for our children's right for a future free of contamination and radioactivity. We propose a partnership with NGOs, local councils and citizens so that the waste problem and other environmental problems can be solved by sustainable methods, which will benefit our children. In that way, Ambjent b'sahhtu ghal sahhitna will become a reality.

Mr Mizzi is the main Labour spokesman on environment policy and planning.