Nature Trust has commended the Cabinet’s endorsement of proposals tabled by Minister George Pullicino by virtue of which red tape slowing down MEPA enforcement has been greatly reduced. The NGO has been campaigning for more hard-nosed legislation to stem ODZ illegal development for a number of years and is satisfied that some of its proposals have finally been taken on board.

Namely, proposals include taking Direct Action immediately illegal development in ODZ (Outside Development Zone) areas is detected – post-May 2007 illegal development will be subject to such action. The NGO also believes that taking aerial photos of the islands in May 2007 bolsters MEPA’s enforcement capabilities. Both proposals have the potential to stave off the current scourge of illegal development, abetted by the current legal framework that allows a perpetrator to apply for sanctioning soon after his illegality is completed – the NGO is also aware that several hundred enforcement cases are still pending at Direct Action stage. Despite such cases being pre-May 2007, the NGO believes that these should be resolved with haste all the same. The names of perpetrators of illegal development should also be made public.

Finally, the NGO, while congratulating Cabinet for taking such momentous decisions, augurs that the same proposals are not blocked in Parliament when it reconvenes after the summer recess but are endorsed by both political parties as proof of their professed green credentials. Attention now should also be dedicated towards beefing up MEPA’s ODZ enforcement unit (both in terms of manpower and resources) and overhauling the protracted appeals stage that bogs down any eventual MEPA Direct Action on pre-May 2007 cases.