If one has ever had the opportunity to visit New York City, one cannot fail to be amazed at the view from a skyscraper facing Central Park, that huge green lung right slap bang in the middle of Manhattan.

The park is the only thing that keeps New Yorkers sane in their concrete jungle. People take time from work to go for lunch there, shaded by a tree. Others enjoy picnics on their days off, while children and dogs are taken for much needed exercise.

Cyprus also places tremendous value on its forests and cultivated orchards and parks. The island has a cover of 42% in terms of trees, forests and woods.

We pick the two examples because both, in a sense, are similar to Malta. While New York is the city of skyscrapers that never sleeps, we chose to compare it because of the massively high population density, compared to the relative green cover. Granted, Central Park is ‘artificial’, but it is still a green lung that offers some peace and quiet.

Cyprus is even more barren than Malta. While it has the advantage of being a mountainous country (in terms of Greece), one cannot fail to note that there are trees everywhere; whether in a natural, or planted setting.

And this brings us to Malta. According to an EU study, less than 1% of Malta’s landmass is covered by tree canopy – by far the lowest in the EU. Holland, which also has a high density problem and comes in just above last (Malta) has a cover of 11%.

To put it into context, ancient historical records show that the Knights of St John had chopped down most of Malta’s trees in order to build ships, when battling the Barbary corsairs and the Ottoman fleet.

It seems that despite the planting of the Boschetto (Buskett), Malta never really recovered. It must be pointed out that the government has, of late, embarked on many ambitious projects to generate more tree cover in Malta under the 34U umbrella. We also acknowledge that there have been several senseless vandal attacks where tree saplings were vandalised by unscrupulous individuals at various afforestation sites.

But still, there are not enough trees. Granted, Malta is arid and our water is expensive as it comes from reverse osmosis plants. But at the same time, we have no real reservoirs or underground cisterns to collect water. Even in more arid places, such as Libya and Tunisia, one can see various trees and shrubs that survive the heat and drought quite well. The same holds true for Cyprus and one species is almost a pest, the olive.

We know that Malta has problems with irrigation, planting and even changing mindset. But something well and truly must be done. A measly 1% tree cover on our island is inexcusable. Aside from the obvious aesthetics and peace of mind which greenery brings, we must also think in terms of health. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen – something which we badly need more of on this stuffy and polluted island of ours.

Of course, trees take decades to grow to full size, and one cannot really hope to buy full-grown ones to plant around the country. But perhaps it is time to start planting trees along with all the beautiful flower beds that we see dotted around the island.