Din L-Art Helwa has launched a new 12-month campaign called "Save the Countryside" highlighting the importance of the countryside and the biodiversity it sustains to the daily lives of the Maltese community and for future generations.
This campaign seeks to raise public awareness of the threats to biodiversity through the over-development of the countryside and the destruction of habitats and ecological corridors.
"The countryside is threatened by the conversion of natural areas for other uses, such as housing, roads, industry and the expansion of urban areas. There is a need for more political will to seriously tackle the issue. More action is also needed against illegal building in the countryside, illegal dumping and illegal hunting or trapping," NGO representatives said.
The internet-based campaign mainly engages audiences on social media through a Facebook page which will provide regular news and updates".
The NGO argues that "a wide variety of native and endemic species of plants and animals, as well as natural habitats, make up the biological diversity of the Maltese islands. Biodiversity plays an integral role in sustainable development and is central to a healthy environment".
DLH President Simone Mizzi, two council members (Dr Alan Deidun and Joanna Spiteri Stains as well as University Youth for the Environment member Julia Farrugia addressed the conference.
President Mizzi argued that the government has never spoken in favour of the environment. "In fact, through the new laws they are enacting they are doing more harm than good. We sent a letter last week appealing to the Prime Minister to change his mind on some of these laws however we still do not know if our appeal touched his heart".
"The countryside adds to the quality of life," she explained.
DLH has requested an appointment to meet with the Minister for Planning and the MEPA Chairman following the letter, adding that they are also inviting the Environment Minister, "who seems to have lost his portfolio".
600 flies
Dr Deidun spoke about Biodiversity. "The first time this word was used in Europe was in 1968 and it first appeared in the Maltese press in 1988. According to the EU Barometer survey in 2007 57% of Maltese people had never heard this phrase. In 2013 this dropped to 28%. The number of people who actually understand the term, however, stood at 44%".
As an example of the sheer amount of species living on the islands, Dr Dejdun said that 600 species of flies live on the island. How could anyone realise the value of such species if everyone considers them a nuisance? He also mentioned that well over 1000 different species of plants are present on the island, which is more than can be found in the whole of the United Kingdom. "We are currently on the verge of the 6th major extinction, the last one being the dinosaurs, and this is all de to one species... we human beings".
Joanna Spiteri Stains mentioned that the campaign was soft-launched on Monday and already has well over 1,000 likes. She mentioned the planned White Rocks development, stating that one of the zones contains certain species which shouldn't be bulldozed. "The countryside needs to be protected".
The campaign will see a Debate at the University, a poll to see awareness of biodiversity and damage to countryside and a policy document proposed policy regarding what needs to be done.
Youth for environment representative Julia farrugia emphasised that when it is her generation's turn to inherit the island, she does not want to find a declining environmental situation.
They appealed to the Maltese public to follow their campaign on Facebook and spread the word.