Camilla Appelgren, chief Patrolling ranger of the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU), has told The Malta Independent that local politicians lack the political will to address environmental issues, though society can turn this on its head if voters tell them that they truly care about these concerns.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Appelgren said that as a country we are not doing enough to curb environmental crimes.

She said that voters can counter politicians’ deficient political will to tackle the issues she and her colleagues face every day by making politicians know that safeguarding the environment tops their list of priorities.

“We forgot that we employ politicians; it shouldn’t work as it is – that we idolise politicians,” she said. “We need to make them aware that we want a certain thing, and we must voice our opinion to them.”

Speaking on the importance of voters making their voices heard, Appelgren acknowledged the “very, very powerful” effects of social media. The former Partit Demokratiku MEP candidate remarked that there have been some cases where action was taken to address environmental issues after significant social media outcry was observed by top brass officials.

She said that it is important for people to realise their power in democracy and that publicising their interests can have positive ramifications for society as a whole.

“There is a lack of political will from decision-makers. All sides have a bit of fear to tackle it,” she said. “A lot of the country is starting to get fed up with impunity.”

The Malta Ranger Unit is an independent NGO that is committed to safeguarding environmental law across the whole country. By its statute, rangers defend issues relating to Chapter 549 of the Laws of Malta, that is, the Environment Protection Act. They also tackle other issues that impact local environment that do not necessarily fall under the scope of this legislation.

The MRU’s chief Patrolling ranger stated that an increase in reports will lead to more officers being assigned to the police’s Environmental Protection Unit (EPU).

“People need to be part of the change and do what they want others to do,” she remarked. “If they want more enforcement, then report [issues] to us or the police.”

At the moment, MRU receives around 300 reports every month. Appelgren also noted that there are currently no environmental police in Gozo and that the lack of environmental officers there leads to environmental issues being reported to the Gozo’s general police, who are often occupied with more pressing issues. As an example, Appelgren said that Gozitan police must give more importance to a reported case of domestic violence over reports about an illegal fire.

Appelgren noted that to do this, people must overcome their lingering fear that speaking up will have negative repercussions on their lives, due to political reasons. She said that the rangers feel that this attitude still dawdles around society and that some people, particularly among the older generation, she added, are still afraid of losing their jobs – resulting in them holding back from voicing their concerns publicly.

For protected areas, such as the Majjistral Nature and History Park, Appelgren believes that impunity is allowing many “small crimes” to go unattended and unseen. She said that having multiple people hunting just outside the permitted hours or burning small piles of waste can collectively become a big issue for enforcement.

The environment activist said that the country’s struggling enforcement is the main threat to local habitats, though since the lack of environmental officers is not really highlighted, this is acting as an “invisible threat” in Appelgren’s eyes.

“Everything is protected on paper, we have very good environmental laws, but they don’t really highlight that the few officers we have don’t have time to view all areas,” she said. This enforcement issue is exacerbated by some areas being quite large and not having road access, meaning that they must be patrolled on foot.

She also suggested that Natura 2000 sites are represented through their own local laws and deterrents to environmental crimes, and that people are better educated about environmental laws, since at the moment, “people are a bit lost on how to behave and on what is legal and what is not”.

Appelgren noted that it is not about any single petty crime, but “it’s about how ineffective we are to deal with all of them”. Since environmental police do not work during the night, people committing environmental crimes done after hours can cause great damage before enforcers can reach the location. She remarked that this deficiency is due to the present lack of environmental enforcers.

The MRU works to educate the public about environmental law, to prevent environmental crimes via patrols and to carry out monitoring exercises in areas of concern. Due to its independent status, the MRU relies on memberships. During its setting-up, a decision was made where the NGO would not accept any government funding, since its founding members did not wish to have any “strings attached” with anyone for political reasons.

“Our hands would be tied in a lot of cases, and we wouldn’t want that,” she said. “Our unit will be as big as you want it to be.” She added that people’s donations are what are keeping them going; MRU’s memberships cost €1 per month.

Appelgren said that there have been suggestions for the membership to be increased, with the argument that little can be done with just €1 per person per month. The ranger stated that in everything the rangers do, they observe that people hold this attitude that they’re just one person, or similarly, that “it’s just one bird/bag of rubbish”. Appelgren however noted that “we are seeing thousands of people doing the same thing and we are seeing the result of it”.

“People are seeing themselves as small, but when they unite, they are the most powerful thing we have in society,” she said, “it’s not the politicians, it’s not the authorities that are the most powerful – it is us.” Appelgren also stated that if everyone gave that €1 per month, the MRU could employ 10 more rangers. Her words drew parallels with the common election discourse about the importance of voting and how every vote counts.

 

Marija Sara Vella Gafà’s comments against rangers and harassment

On 27 March, Labour Party MEP candidate Marija Sara Vella Gafà took to Facebook to express her concern over the rangers’ “strong or exaggerated presence” in the country. She had also written that the environmental rangers were being seen both in the countryside and inside private property “where there is no ongoing illegality”.

Appelgren said this statement put her and the rest of the rangers “in danger, validating the impunity” of certain individuals who expressed their support for the candidate’s public comments. She also expressed her disappointment that an election candidate publicised such sentiments.

This social media post came just a week after three individuals had publicly threatened Appelgren online by posting a picture of her car parked outside a residence connected to her.

According to the MRU’s representative, some people who expressed their support to Vella Gafà are people who had been reported to authorities by the MRU, taken to Court, and/or have even been violent with the NGO.

Appelgren denied the MEP candidate’s claims. She said that they are in no way an “exaggerated presence” and that this might only seem to be the case because of the hard work of the handful of rangers who are working with the NGO. Secondly, she debunked the claim that rangers enter private property. Appelgren added that contrarily, the rangers sometimes lend a helping hand to landowners by speaking to trespassers to prevent pristine grounds from getting trampled upon.

Moreover, the chief Patrolling ranger stated that Vella Gafà never contacted the MRU and neither did she check what work the rangers do before publishing her social media post.

Around a week after this ordeal, the MRU met Vella Gafà to discuss what the NGO stands for, about loopholes the rangers have identified in local environmental laws, about the impunity in this field, and to discuss why individuals feel that they can speak to a minister/politician to complain when action is taken against crimes. Vella Gafà never made this meeting public, Appelgren said.

Appelgren noted that Vella Gafa’s comments made the MRU’s rangers more prone to harassment as impunity was given a boost. Additionally, she said that impunity is often boosted after the MRU posts about threats and followed by the silence of public officials and ministers; she said that politicians should be vocal about these instances in order to act as deterrents.

“When it comes to environmental defenders, politicians remain quiet,” she said. “Very few put their feet down.”

Over time, the rangers are getting used to being attacked or threatened, Appelgren said. She said that these uncomfortable instances have impacted her life and have made her generate a sense of unease that now make her look over her shoulder more frequently.

“Before I needed two days to calm down and take a step back, now I can just continue, but it lingers in the back of our minds,” she said.

In spite of these negative experiences, the rangers remain committed to continue tackling “small” environmental issues across the Maltese islands. Appelgren stated that among civil society, there are plenty of groups dealing with “bigger” issues affecting the local landscape. She said that NGOs like Din L-Art Ħelwa and Moviment Graffitti are equipped with the knowledge and resources to combat larger problems, such as those involving the country’s most known developers and developments.

She concluded that no one is committed to tackling the “smaller” crimes that the rangers address.

She described that these petty crimes are all about convenience. The ranger described that when outdoors, very few people are willing to walk an extra mile to properly dispose of all their waste because it’s more convenient to set them alight or leave them around in the countryside.

The MRU functions through an educational approach whereby rangers work to inform the public on how to abide by the law while respecting their sense of convenience. Appelgren believes this approach is effective, as the MRU regularly receives inquiries from the public.