By now, we are used to the underhand tactics. The public deals that shame governments are carried out without public scrutiny and away from the media gaze. It happened with the power station deal, it happened with the hospitals’ deal and on Friday afternoon with Miżieb and Aħrax.

Ministers lined up behind hunters’ representatives to sign off the management of massive tracts of public land estimated to be five times larger than Buskett and 150 times the size of the Floriana Granaries.

They were handed over to the hunters’ federation, an organisation that has repeatedly shown it puts the interests of its members before the common good.

For years, the hunters have threatened the two main political parties with their votes to obtain more concessions. And one after the other, politicians bent over backwards to appease a lobby that has often resorted to bullying tactics to get their way. We have reached such ridiculous lows that we now have a hunter/parliamentary secretary who is responsible for the hunting regulator. 

Evidently trying to play down an issue that has incensed people, the government says this is just a matter of formalising an arrangement that has been in place for years.

Minister Ian Borg even felt he had to point out that the FKNK has been doing a good job in managing the area in question.

According to Borg, the deal will see the FKNK taking care of the sites in question by planting trees, cleaning up the areas and repairing rubble walls.

Sadly we know the track record of several hunters who are notorious for shooting down birds and certainly not embellishing our countryside.

Ministers in the back, FKNK in the front: the deal is done. Photo: DOI

Land and open spaces are at a premium, more so woodlands. They offer a rare breather in a country which has been choked by unbridled construction. Why the issue was shrouded in secrecy is not clear. It suggests the government knew it does not have a leg to stand on when it tries to justify the decision.

The hunters will be managing – controlling, rather – a huge area of land that is frequented by the public for recreation.

According to Spazji Miftuħa, an environmental coalition, this will mean limiting public access to just three months of the year during the summer months, a period that is unsuitable for those who enjoy their own hobby of trekking or camping in the area.

Public land should be accessible for all to enjoy. It would make sense if this area and others like it were handed over to Ambjent Malta, whose aim is to improve people’s quality of life and their appreciation of the environment. But it’s too late for that.

The deal smacks of political agenda and, in the words of Spazji Miftuħa, “has taken more from our country than it could ever possibly return”.

A ‘sit-in strike’ is now planned to be held at Miżieb on Sunday to defend the right of the public to open green spaces.

The organisers are urging participants to take plenty of food and water so they can stay on site.

Their determination to reclaim public space deserves widespread support.

The citizens who have the environment at heart cannot back a government which has repeatedly put the interests of a selfish and often ruthless lobby before theirs.

We expect the opposition to come out strongly against the deal, but we won’t hold our breath.

As the iconic photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams famously said: “It is horrifying that we have to fight our government to save our environment.”