Environmental concern reaching a critical mass

The more one observes the ebb and flow of one government scandal hot on the heels of another and the public’s very short attention span, the more one grows convinced that the next election will not be fought on the battleground of good governance but, rather, on the battleground for the environment.

The environment, truth be told, is now at the forefront of the national discourse perhaps more than it has ever been in the past.

From rampant, unchecked development across the board to the still properly unaddressed high-rise and skyscraper controversy, from the country’s slacking on the renewable energy front to the genetically modified organism issue, and from air quality to Outside Development Zone policies and much more – all matters environmental seem to be taking centre stage lately.

While we in the media have played a certain role in fostering this new and heightened awareness, we cannot claim the credit for this new ethos of environmental concern sweeping over the country. It is, in actual fact, through the hard work of many of the country’s environmental NGOs and their dogged pursuit of environmental justice in all its forms that has well and truly raised that awareness, and which is building environmental awareness up to a critical mass that could end up deciding an election.

The open letter to the Prime Minister published in today’s issue is one such case in point, and eNGO Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar warrants credit for not only raising the most pointed issues affecting the country from an environmental and quality of life perspective, but for also having had the gumption to have solicited the signatures of many of the country’s foremost academics, architects, historians, lawyers, environmentalists and opinion-makers to put pen to paper to sign on to the initiative.

As evidence of the mounting consternation over all matters environmental, many of those leading signatories are those who rarely, if ever, take part in such initiatives.

Another case in point were the efforts undertaken on Friday by Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent, which blockaded the entrance of the Environment and Resources Authority's in protest over the ERA’s role in the Planning Authority's approval of the Mrieħel Towers and the TownSquare developments.

Concerned citizens, unprompted by political concerns and out of a genuine concern for the air that we breathe and the environment that surrounds us are sending message after message to the powers that be that any further degradation of the country’s environment or aesthetics will no longer be tolerated.

It will not be long before those messages and sentiments are reflected at the electoral polls.

It is through the efforts of many of these relentless volunteers that attitudes in this country are changing, and changing for the better. But it will only be when there is a critical mass of environmentalists that politicians will stop the lip service and truly heed what is being demanded of them – to safe- guard what is left of this small country’s environment and to work to actively improve citizens’ quality of life in the way that only the proper protection of the environment can do.

Overall, the country’s environmental lobby has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, and the government, and the Opposition for that matter, will ignore this growing movement at their peril.

The main political parties would do well to take note of what the environmentalist are saying. There was a time when their numbers were negligible when it came to the grand electoral stakes, but those times are now behind us.

The environmental lobby as a whole has grown significantly in recent years and it is only a matter of time before their clout grows enough for them to well and truly begin to set the political agenda in Malta, as has been the case in so many other countries. If their messages are not heeded, one fine Election Day, maybe not the next but eventually, one or both of the big parties could very well be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The world over, and Malta is by no stretch of the imagination any different, the political class is quite content to preserve the status quo. It is, after all, in the establishment’s interest to retain a system that is beneficial to it, and keeping the masses as silent as possible about the real ills affecting their country.

But it is only when the public makes its voice heard loud and clear and en masse that politicians will be compelled to respond.