Environmentalists all over the world have a very difficult task. They often stand in the way of developers and speculators. In some cases they have to pay for this with their own lives and Malta poses no difference.

Our environment or what is left of it is silent. Over the last 50 years, new developments have rapidly taken up whole patches of land that once formed part of our countryside. Hotels have been built outside development zones to be abandoned only a few years later and transformed into apartments. The air that we breathe is polluted. The water that we once used to drink is now contaminated for generations to come. In this situation environmentalists offer a voice for the environment. They are a small national conscience confronting powerful lobbies of developers. They have no one to defend them, no politicians and no journalists on their side.

Environmentalists are not doing their job to fill their pockets. They simply wish to defend a better quality of life for the present and for future generations. In giving priority to the preservation of natural habitats they are giving us the message that God’s creation is worth defending because it is more beautiful than all our fakes. In view of all this it is both ridiculous and dangerous to accuse environmentalists of threatening our jobs.

It is overdevelopment that is threatening the quality of life and the value of existing property. The present crisis is a godsend to shift some of our inflated workforce engaged in the construction industry to more sustainable pastures. It is a golden opportunity to safeguard our countryside and where need be even to restore derelict developed areas such as Ramla to their original beauty.

Not all new development make sense and our tiny islands are too valuable to be left up for grabs to developers.

Agnes Debono

Kercem