Għandna bżonn Viżjoni 2050 alternattiva, viżjoni ħadra, li tapprezza u tħares il-wirt naturali. Għax ekonomija li ma tirrispettax lill-ekoloġija ħsara biss tagħmel u m’għandniex bżonnha. Dan qaluh il-kelliema ta’ ADPD-The Green Party f’konferenza stampa li fiha fissru l-ewwel reazzjonijiet tal-partit għall-Viżjoni 2050 ippubblikata mill-Gvern għall-konsultazzjoni pubblika iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa.

Carmel Cacopardo, Deputat Chairperson qal li l-Viżjoni 2050 li ppubblika l-Gvern hu pjan ta’ żvilupp igglorifikat, stil ġdid ta’ kif qed jiġi ppreżentat pjan ekonomiku. Bħala viżjoni hi imċajpra, u tinjora materji ta’ natura fundamentali. Il-bidla fil-klima ma tingħatax l-importanza ċentrali: minkejja li din hi realtà li qed naraw l-effetti tagħha b’għajnejna kuljum.

Il-pilastri strateġiċi proposti, li huma erbgħa, żied jgħid Cacopardo, jonqoshom pilastru ta’ importanza fundamentali: dak ekoloġiku. Il-ħidma ekonomika li ma tirrispettax l-ekoloġija ma għandniex bżonnha. Hu għalhekk li illum il-ġurnata qegħdin niffaċċjaw diżastri naturali wieħed wara l-ieħor. Għax tul is-snin il-ħidma ekonomika naqset milli tindirizza l-impatti ambjentali.

Cacopardo kompla jgħid li riżultat ta’ hekk l-ilma tal-pjan prattikament spiċċa, il-bijodiversità hi mhedda, l-art agrikola kontinwament tingħata għall-bini, il-klima qed tinbidel b’rata drastika, u sadanittant il-Viżjoni 2050 proposta mill-Gvern tagħti importanza insinifikanti lil dawn il-materji fundamentali.

Hu tajjeb li l-viżjoni 2050 temfasizza li r-riga ekonomika waħedha (GDP) mhux suffiċjenti biex tkejjel il-progress. Dan hu pass tajjeb u fuq perjodu ta’ żmien jista’ jissarraf f’ġid permezz ta’ għarfien aħjar ta’ x’inhu meħtieġ biex il-ħidma politika tkun tista’ twassal għal kwalità tal-ħajja aħjar, bis-serjetà.

Sadanittant, imma, l-Viżjoni 2050 tonqos milli tidentifika l-ħarsien tal-wirt ekoloġiku bħala pilastru strateġiku li jimmotiva l-ħidma ta’ kull wieħed u waħda minna. Fuq quddiem nett, imma, f’din il-ħidma hemm bżonn ta’ impenn mill-amministrazzjoni pubblika. Il-ħarsien ta’ dak li baqa’ mill-wirt naturali flimkien mar-restawr tan-natura mill-ħsara ambjentali li kkawżaw ta’ qabilna u li komplew fuqha wħud fostna hi għalina ta’ prijorità ewlenija f‘ Viżjoni 2050 alternattiva, ikkonkluda Cacopardo.

Sandra Gauci, Chairperson tal-partit qalet li dan il-pilastru ekoloġiku, li hu nieqes fil-Viżjoni 2050 kif ippubblikata mill-Gvern għall-konsultazzjoni pubblika għandu jkun imżewweġ ma’ politika serja dwar l-żvilupp sostenibbli. Politika li tħares fil-bogħod meta tippjana, jiġifieri tqis sewwa l-impatti mhux biss fuqna illum imma ukoll fuq il-ġenerazzjonijiet li ġejjin warajna.

Il-ġenerazzjonijiet futuri m’għandhomx vot illum, u allura l-politika li ssostni l-Viżjoni 2050 tinjorahom. Politika ta’ żvilupp sostenibbli serja dan ma tagħmlux għax tfittex qabel kollox li tqis sewwa li bid-deċiżjonijiet li nieħdu illum nassiguraw li dawk li ġejjin warajna ikollhom huma ukoll il-possibilità li jieħdu d-deċiżjonijiet tagħhom.

Minflok dan, il-klassi politika tal-lum qed tgħabbi (s’issa) ħdax-il biljun Euro dejn nazzjonali fuq il-ġenerazzjonijiet ta’ għada u dan flimkien ma’ kapital naturali dilapidat. Dan kollu il-Viżjoni 2050 m’għandhiex tinjorah.

Minflok dan kollu aħna nipproponu viżjoni alternattiva, viżjoni ħadra bbażata fuq ir-realtà nnegabbli li l-bniedem hu parti integrali mill-ambjent naturali u li allura jeħtieġ li l-ħidma kollha tagħna tkun f’armonija mal-wirt naturali li baqa’. Jeħtieġ li mhux biss ngħozzu dak li baqa’ imma ukoll li nfittxu illi nirrestawraw kull fejn saret il-ħsara, mhux biss minn dawk li ġew qabilna imma ukoll issa f’dawn iż-żminijiet ukoll.

Din hi l-viżjoni li għandna nmexxu l-quddiem, ikkonkludiet Sandra Gauci, għax hekk biss nistgħu ngħaddu lil ta’ warajna pajjiż li jkun aħjar milli ħallewlna ta’ qabilna.

***

Malta needs an alternative Vision 2050: a green vision

We need an alternative Vision 2050, a green vision which values and protects our natural heritage. This is required because an economy which functions without any respect of the ecology causes considerable damage which we can do without. This was stated by spokespersons for ADPD-The Green Party at a press conference in which they explained the party’s first reactions to Vision 2050 just published by Government for public consultation earlier this week.

Carmel Cacopardo, Deputy Chairperson, stated that Vision 2050 is a glorified development plan, a new way of presenting an economic plan.  It is a blurred vision which ignores matters of a fundamental nature. Climate change is not given central importance , notwithstanding that this is the reality whose impacts we witness day in day out. 

The strategic pillars proposed are four, added Cacopardo. A fifth one, of fundamental importance, is missing: the ecological pillar.  Economic activity should be  carried out in full respect of the ecology.  Otherwise it ends up creating one natural disaster after the other as we are currently facing.

Cacopardo further explained that as a result, currently, the water table is practically depleted, biodiversity severely threatened, agricultural land is being continuously developed, and the climate is undergoing rapid change. Yet Vision 2050, as proposed by the Government, practically ignores the consideration of these matters of fundamental importance.

It is positive that Vision 2050 emphasises that using the Gross National Product (GDP), on its own, is not an adequate measure of progress. This initiative may, over time, serve to sensitise the political actors as to what really needs to be done in order to better everyone’s quality of life.

In the meantime, however, Vision 2050 fails to identify the protection of the ecology as one of the strategic pillars motivating our activity.   The public sector must be at the forefront in ensuring that this is done. Protecting what is left of our natural heritage and restoring the damage caused by previous generations and further amplified by the present ones is for us a priority in an alternative Vision 2050, concluded Cacopardo.

Sandra Gauci, ADPD-The Green Party Chairperson, stated that the ecological pillar, which is missing from the Vision 2050 published by the government for public consultation, should be linked with a sensible sustainable development policy having a long-term view. This signifies that the planning required does not only consider immediate impacts but also factors in the impacts on future generations.

However, in view of the fact that future generations do not vote today, the policy proposals put forward by Vision 2050 ignores them. The politics of sustainable development, applied properly, would avoid this as it would ensure that before decisions are taken it is ensured that these same decisions are such that they would not impede future generations from taking their own decisions.

It is indeed unfortunate that instead of working to ensure that future generations are free to make their own decisions, our political class are instead burdening them with an accumulated national deficit of 11 billion Euro (and still counting), and this in addition to inheriting a dilapidated natural capital. Vision 2050 should not ignore these basic facts.

Instead of all this we propose an alternative vision, a green vision founded on the basic fact that man is an integral part of the natural world. This signifies that all our actions must be aligned with and in harmony with what is left of the natural world. We need to not just protect and care for what is left of the natural world but we must also seek to restore all that has been damaged not just done by previous generations but also the extensive damage in the recent past.

This is the vision that we put forward, concluded Sandra Gauci.  It is the only way in which we can ensure that future generations have to deal with a substantially improved Malta, much better than that bequeathed to us by previous generations.