It seems that, every day, we are confronted with yet another assault on Malta’s natural environment. In recent days, we received another piece of environmentally devastating news: the latest proposal to uproot the trees on Gozo’s road to Marsalforn (whose trees I hold near and dear to my heart).
As always, people are aghast.
As always, the public is helpless.
Why isn’t Malta committing to protecting her environment?
Trees are important. They are ecosystems that provide shelter and food to wildlife and birds. They are beautiful havens that provide us with vital shade and spiritual sanctuary.
Countless studies have shown how trees contribute to all of our physical, mental and emotional well-being. They literally “help people live happier, healthier and longer lives”.
Case in point: asthma, especially in children and the elderly, is an increasingly deadly problem. In all of the EU’s Mediterranean countries, Malta places worst for asthma rates and one-third of people admitted to the hospital for asthma live in central Malta, where there is a notable lack of trees.
That is no coincidence.
Trees filter particles out of the air we breathe. This substantially decreases our risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. In fact, one study found that “trees removed 17.4 million tons of air pollution across the US, which prevented 850 human deaths and 670,000 cases of acute respiratory symptoms”.
Isn’t that reason alone to stop the removal, uprooting and transplant of trees? They save lives.
The removal of our woodlands affects our nation’s well-being. In 2019, Times of Malta reported that Malta was number one of all countries whose citizens (26.5%) “complained about being exposed to pollution and other environmental problems”.
Guess what combats pollution? Trees. “They efficiently remove harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, while simultaneously providing us with clean oxygen.”
Trees also provide a home and shelter to a wide variety of birds. Birds control mosquito populations. The reduction of birds and their natural habitat certainly feeds into Malta’s profound mosquito problem. And if there’s one thing that all peoples of this nation can surely agree upon is that no one needs more mosquitoes. Trees help.
The rich enjoy their beautiful natural environments in their private villas- Dawn Adrienne Saliba
Malta also has a responsibility to the planet itself. The nation needs to contribute its fair share in the fight against global warming. In 2018, the European Commission report on the Paris Climate Agreement urged Malta to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Have we taken that responsibility seriously? Are we anywhere close to meeting this target?
No.
Last year, Malta recorded “the highest increase in emissions across the European Union”. Greenhouse gases here surged by almost 8% while, in 21 (out of 27) other EU countries, they decreased greenhouse gas emissions. Malta’s increase was, by far, the highest, with Latvia coming in second at 4.5%. Estonia and Bulgaria, by contrast, reduced their emissions by a whopping 23%.
Surely, we can perform as well as Estonia and Bulgaria. These other nations take their commitment to reducing emissions seriously; Malta must follow suit.
Do you know what combats greenhouse gasses? Trees.
This issue is reaching a tipping point. Just look at what happened in Mosta, when the ill-advised mayor, with the blessing of the Environment and Resources Authority, authorised the uprooting of its iconic ficus trees. Moviment Graffitti’s Andre Callus became a national hero when he voiced our nation’s rage as he was handcuffed and dragged away by the police in the effort to protect the Rotunda’s gorgeous “weeping figs”.
But not all of us can risk arrest and Callus cannot be present for every ruthless act of ecocide that transpires in this country.
Ask any Maltese native what this country was like 10 years ago compared to now. Many claim they no longer recognise the country they grew up in.
One of my dear elderly friends laments trees removed from a Santa Luċija cemetery as she does lost family members. On top of that, she also mourns the 300 gorgeous olive trees that were also recently chopped down and the abundance of trees relocated to a private field.
It is no wonder that young people are leaving in droves – and the top reason is the environment. People are dreaming if they think they can persuade young people to stay or attract entrepreneurs to live in this country without a beautiful natural environment.
I implore the government: can you not hear our nation’s despair? Can you not care for all of your citizens? The rich enjoy their beautiful natural environments in their private villas. The rest of us deserve them, too.
We all want Malta to be a lovely place to live and raise our families. We need to plant more trees and create more green spaces, not rip up and destroy the precious few that are remaining. We want to have places where our children can play on grass, not concrete. We want to hear birds chirping in the morning, not incessant drills. It is absolutely essential to our well-being.
Let us work together to end this environmental rampage. Let us unite to preserve and resurrect that which we need the most: clean air and green spaces. Let us enact sane and rational policies that preserve nature and ensure the well-being of our children for generations to come.
Our health depends on it. Our lives depend on it.
For God’s sakes, leave our trees alone.
Dawn Adrienne Saliba, Ph.D, is president of MALTA-ARCH.