PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND PUBLIC CLEANLINESS Maritime resources and environmental integrity are essential for Malta, and auditing these resources should support environmental improvement – Minister Miriam Dalli

Unprecedented investment in recent years to establish a high-quality environmental sector

Currently in Malta, the 23rd Assembly of the Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) of INTOSAI is being held, hosted by the National Audit Office (NAO).

During this Assembly, Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Public Cleanliness Miriam Dalli, emphasised the importance of using "all the tools at our disposal as strategic instruments to bring about meaningful change." Minister Miriam Dalli noted that transparent governance in our country has been a crucial tool paving the way for continuous improvement in the environmental sector.

Minister Dalli remarked, “In a country like ours, where the sea is a source of livelihood, these tools must be pillars of change. We strongly believe in this principle; so much so that an audit carried out in 2018 led to structural changes in how Malta protects more than 30% of its maritime zone, through Natura 2000 sites, scientific monitoring, and a €2 million conservation program."

The minister also referred to the water sector, a crucial sector that in the past year saw an unprecedented investment of €63.9 million in more sustainable and transparent water systems, which resulted in reduced infiltration and increased production of clean energy.

She asserted that, “These environmental sector investments are clear evidence of how, as a government, we have always looked to these strategic tools to guide us in the direction we want to continue moving toward."

While thanking the NAO for its leadership, Minister Miriam Dalli concluded by saying that “True transparency means that auditing is not seen as documenting mistakes, but as a means of innovation that enables us to continue building a quality environmental sector."