POINTS FROM SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON. FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AT A SEMINAR ON "THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN MALTA"

The Hon. Francis Zammit Dimech, Minister for the Environment, said that the small size of the island and its large population contributed in no small way at changing the face of our limited biotopes and the status of many of our species.

He said that 35 years ago, at around the same time that Malta gained its Independence, the first nature and heritage societies were founded in Malta by a small core of altruistic individuals. At that time the Natural History Society, Din l-Art Helwa and the Malta Ornithological Society were, one can say the founding fathers of the environment movement in Malta.

Today Malta boasts an array of environmental groups which is proof of the level of popular democratization in Malta and Gozo. The Nature History Society is today's Nature Trust. As this Society will attest, much has changed in the last 35 years.

You will all agree that until the early nineties, Malta lacked a comprehensive planning plan or philosophy on land use and development in this country. And you will all agree that loss of biotopes is by far the largest problem we face in this country.

Minister Zammit Dimech said that it was a result of this Government's sensitivity to the requests of years of campaigning by environmental NGO's that the Structure Plan was created and put into force. The Structure Plan heralded a new era where land development and human activities were no longer taken for granted. New concepts were introduced such as the Environment Impact Assessment, data banks on endangered species were set, public hearings were instituted and mapping of unique habitats taken in hand.

Dr. Zammit Dimech noted that parallel to this initiative, the Environment Protection Department within the Ministry for the Environment embarked on an ambitious legislative programme to see that the natural resources on these islands are protected by Maltese law. The Environment Protection Department set up a team of trained enforcement officers to coordinate their enforcement.

The Minister for the Environment said that the technical work carried out by the different government agencies would not have borne a measure of success, had it not been for the unwavering education campaigns captained by the nature protection NGO's, who have over the years focused on schools and the younger generation to instill an appreciation of our natural resources. He said that there were other bolder steps. The setting up of the nature reserves at Simar and Ghadira have offered and will offer unique educational opportunities for permeating the diversity of the wildlife we find in these islands. But these areas too have borne fruit namely through the return of natural species.

Minister Zammit Dimech said the declaration of special protected zones, such as was the case with the unique islet of Filfla and the Ta' Cenc Cliffs and other special conservation areas, are a sign of the Government's commitment to the preservation of our natural areas.

The Minister for the Environment said that we are aware of our limitations and that more needs to be done. He said that we are conscious that much more needs to be done to conserve those specific biotopes that may not have a remarkable aesthetic value but have very valid scientific values.

Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech said that we are now in the very important process of aligning ourselves to one of the most important frameworks for the future preservation of our natural resources: the Habitats Directives.

The Habitat Directives of the acquis communiaire will offer a wonderful opportunity for present and future Governments and interested parties to enforce proper conservation measures and see to a sustainable development.

The Minister for the Environment said that we all know that the lack of human foresight and awareness and greed has led to the demise of habitats and endangered species. We are now on a different track. He said that we are aware that by simply saying that we are upholding this philosophy is not enough. We must and we will have to see the transfer of more resources to the Environment

Protection Department. He added that his Ministry will encourage synergy with other agencies such as the Planning Authority and will build on the good contacts that the Government has with NGO's to guarantee a free flow of information and consultation.

Dr. Zammit Dimech mentioned briefly one experience and experiment which his Ministry undertook which he believed is the way forward in all aspects related to nature protection in this country. He referred to the working agreement between Birdlife Malta and the Federation of Hunters, Trappers and Conservationists. This agreement had led to much controversy. In this experiment the issue at stake was to discover those matters on which one can seek convergence. The result led to a number of very positive developments, namely the setting up of an Environment Monitoring Board and the setting up of the Foundation for Wild Birds' Conservation. The Environment Monitoring Board came into action in the beginning of September and in the nature reserve of Buskett alone we saw just over 3,500 birds of prey migrating and not being shot or poached because of a combined effort by different NGO's working together.

The Minister for the Environment augured that this approach needs to be followed in other sectors such as in the case with quarries' development, fishing and agriculture. He said thet we must build on links between industry, contractors and environmentalists to influence and channel sustainable development in this country. Instead of confrontational strategies, we must look for ways which will reap the fastest results. Nature protection is fighting against time and we must act fast.

Dr Francis Zammit Dimech said that Government is committed to addressing the urgent need of supporting NGO's such as Nature Trust in promoting viable nature protection projects. He said this conference is the first attempt by an NGO to address the implications of the environmental acquis communitaire. He noted that we are in agreement on the strong need for the implimentation of the environment chapter. We can only see this as benefiting Malta and the Maltese. Together we must find ways of seeing this happen.