TOM 29 August 2005
Constitutional right to enjoyment of environment
Arnold Cassola, Swieqi.
The Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, the leader of
the opposition, Alfred Sant and the president of the GRTU, Paul Abela
are all agreeing that there should be a new golf course in Malta and
another one in Gozo.
These people simply do not realise that Malta is
the most populated country in the world (forget Monaco and the Vatican
please!) after Macao and Singapore. They are forgetting that our
territory does not surpass 320 square kilometres and that nearly one
third of this is already covered in buildings and cement. They choose
to forget that there are no lakes, forests, mountains or rivers in our
archipelago.
The only sources of recreation for our citizens
are the sea and the little countryside that is left. The first has long
been and is continuing to be sold to the owners of fish farms; the
second to building speculators who want to develop golf courses for
their own profit. This ecologic irresponsibility must stop now. We have
a duty to leave something for the Maltese and Gozitans of tomorrow.
Maltese governments boast about our proposal that
the seabed should be considered the common heritage of mankind! Let us
stop using two weights and two measures! I am now proposing that the
right to the enjoyment of Maltese countryside and seas by this and
successive generations be entrenched in the Maltese Constitution. Could
Minister Tonio Borg get cracking on this immediately rather than
wasting time on other issues or making stupid declarations to the
Financial Times?
• Up • Elephants • The Myth • Garigue in Malta • Not Viable • Golf Logic • The Debate • Med Flora • Sacrifice • Who Pays? • Broken Promises • Building Starts • Suspicious • Wide Angle Alternatives • Good for the syndicate • Constitutional right to enjoyment of environment • Talking Point • Asking the right questions • Golfcourse Blues • A sign of things to come • Protect our open spaces •
