Eight environment groups will be holding a rally starting at 10am in Valletta on Saturday to put the spotlight on issues of ongoing environmental abuse and lack of law enforcement.

BirdLife Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Greenhouse, Graffitti, the Malta Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM), Nature Trust Malta and the Ramblers Association of Malta are calling members of the public to put pressure on the government to effectively enforce existing laws and put an end to ongoing environmental abuse.

Construction encroachment in out-of-development zones (ODZ) such as scrap-yards, the Sea Bank Hotel extension and developments at Qala and Ramla l-Hamra, as well as violation of Malta’s Structure Plan with regard to the Freeport extension and the Valletta Regeneration Project, needed to stop. Meanwhile the EU Air Pollution Directive was being breached by means of construction dust, toxic exhaust and power station emissions. Illegal hunting and trapping, the destruction of heritage and Natura 2000 sites, as well as unauthorised groundwater extraction, had also become acutely unsustainable, they argue.

The NGOs are drawing attention to the fact that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s Enforcement Unit, established specifically to deal with environmental offences, has been drastically downsized, while illegal extraction of groundwater, the widespread killing of protected birds and illegal occupation of the countryside have gone unchecked. The NGOs are also condemning the fact that a number of permits have recently been granted for major projects which in many cases violate the Structure Plan and Mepa regulations, as well as the EU Directive on public consultation.

“Despite the Prime Minister’s promises for better protection of Malta’s natural environment, the situation has reached unacceptable proportions, with Mepa giving irrational interpretations to its policies in order to suit private and not public interest,” the NGOs said in an invitation statement for the rally.

While calling on the public to participate in the rally, they appealed to the competent authorities and institutions to uphold the rights of citizens to law enforcement, in accordance with environmental standards operative in the European Union.