Gozo is fast becoming a popular venue for international meetings, with the added value of knowledge-sharing and reciprocal learning on various topics and opportunities.
I was pleased to address experts and delegates at three such gatherings this week in which Eco-Gozo, the Ministry’s arm for the environment, was a main participant. Although also discussing different aspects of development and its impact on the environment, sustainability was the major focus in all the presentations and debates.
The serene environmental surroundings that Gozo can offer for such events is favourably complemented by the excellent conference arrangements at our hotels. While focusing on their specific assignments, individual participants can discover the island’s historic sites and its various tourist and cultural amenities, inducing them to choose Gozo for their next holiday due to its unique appeal. It is therefore an honour for me to welcome these distinguished guests to our island, which is increasingly becoming an all year round unique destination.
The right time
This week’s international meetings in Gozo came to a great nation in a small country which, over the past few years, can boast of robust economic growth, distinguishing itself by being included among the highest achievers in the European Union. Over the past six years, Malta and Gozo have taken leading roles in the Mediterranean region, the European Union, the Commonwealth and other world fora.
Holding such events here can further help formulate new standards among MED-areas resulting from different transnational proposals and projects. The vast array of important issues dealt with at these gatherings can actually be the fertile seeds for important global policies at higher levels in the coming years.
As I reiterated in my interventions, the Earth does not belong to us: we belong to the Earth. However unnoticed our findings may be initially, our persuasion and determination will certainly lead very relevant and vitally important endorsements by future generations.
The built environment
The CESBA Med project, with the collaboration of the Ministry for Gozo and EcoGozo, together with 10 major European Projects in Sustainable Development, came together in Gozo this week for their major event. I had the honour of addressing the 5th CESBA Sprint Workshop, intended to promote strategic action to address challenges in the built environment, policy implementation and users involvement, assessment tools, circular economy, energy renovation, resources and city networks.
It made me recall a statement by outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon: “Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. In fact, economic growth and environmental protection are not at odds. They are opposite sides of the same coin if you are looking for longer-term prosperity.”
In my opinion, this statement should inspire the experts’ debates and, eventually, their routine work when returning to their drawing-boards in their respective countries. We are all expected to create a comprehensive exchange on quality standards for the future built environment, the implementation of policies and the involvement as users of new international and EU policies and project applications. We know it is not an easy task but we also know that it is our call. our collective call – policy-makers, environmentalists, professional experts and business developers – to be fully aware of each other’s point of view.
Gozo meetings
Events such as those held this week in Gozo are useful occasions where we come together and face the latest challenges in the built environment in an eco-system, in response to social, economic and demographic needs. We need to better understand the challenges on the job, share our experiences and discuss the adaption to climate change – reaching from building to urban to territorial scale.
Certainly, in this case too we cannot expect that one size fits all, but we need to have the ability to share knowledge and solutions and the capacity – and willingness – to act. Policies, whether regional, national or global, are to be fully understood, endorsed, adopted and implemented wherever and whenever our professional skills are involved.
Politicians and policy-makers such as myself require such expertise and rely on professional commitment and integrity in offering practical remedies. Experts’ input comes into a more holistic scenario in which we need to plan for the deep involvement, both regional and national, of users and beneficiaries, the NGOs and the private investment sector, as needed to realise mass-oriented improvements in the building sector. This is our collective journey for adaptation to people’s expectations, to climate change and to all related issues, including landscape and skyline parameters. Sustainability is and must be the intrinsic thread at all stages – Gozo included.
The Gozo Ministry
As Minister for Gozo, it is my remit to acknowledge, secure and enhance all that is part of the region’s economy. Tourism is a vital industry for us and it needs to be sustainable. The increase in tourist activities and the steady influx of the visitors who also spend days or weeks among us can certainly have an impact on our natural and environmental landcape. We need to tread carefully and conscientiously when dealing with building development and the general infrastructure.
It is the basic motive why I personally insist on wide consultation prior to any design or plan for new projects. Irrespective of their necessity for improving social and economic wellbeing, no development should ever be allowed to dent or tarnish the beauty of our natural environment, which is the best jewel with which creation has endowed the island.
I have, in fact, injected further impetus into our Eco-Gozo structures. We need to be proactive. The serene landscape that pleases the eye of residents and visitors alike must be preserved for the enjoyment of posterity. As has been said over and again, the environment is the legacy we owe to future generations.
Tourist development
Undoubtedly, tourism is an indispensable industry for Gozo: it has been and will always be. All our efforts should be aimed at nurturing and preserving the whole island and its shores as a primary product of great importance. With regard to sustainable tourism, Gozo’s green credentials have again been named the ‘Best sustainable destination in the Mediterranean’ by the International Tourism Annual Bureau. Gozo’s clean waters, heritage sites and the eco-Gozo 2020 strategy were all cited by Green Destinations when awarding our island-region the top placing.
Under my watch, the Gozo Ministry will continue to raise Gozo’s profile internationally and, together with all stakeholders, we will strive to sustain this high ranking in the years to come. This is a challenge because we realise that, through the richly composed cultural calendar we have introduced, the island has now become an all-year-round destination, with times when the island’s population doubles in size.
We are fully aware of our island’s natural attractions, with landscapes and skylines that are naturally linked with Gozo. Together with all the operators involved, the Ministry embraces its call of duty in sustaining such natural heritage as we strongly believe that appreciation and diligent use are the best forms of preservation.
The built environment is part of our endemic landscape and cannot be separated from our natural and cultural wealth. Appreciation entails conservation and restoration which should go hand-in-hand with major projects, particularly those that aim to bring out the importance of historical sites, whether within residential areas or around our panaromic shoreline.
Challenges and opportunities
The loss two years ago of the Azure Window – a world heritage site, from natural causes, has been looked upon as a timely challenge and we have embarked on the Dwejra Opportunity Fund. This provides that, at the end of each financial years, the government will pay into the Fund an equivalent to the amount that has been paid into it by individuals or companies.
The long list of initiatives taken by the Ministry in its cultural and environmental call is proof of our commitment in respect of sustainability. We intend to provide more exposure of our cultural heritage, blending it with a wider appreciation of our natural and environmental heritage. We are committed to identifying potential sectors for economic growth and job creation and the impact thereof on spatial planning implications and other areas where sustainability is core and crucial.