Pjanijiet biex Malta tissejjaħ il-pajjiż tal-bajjiet ‘White Flag’ huma bla sens mingħajr sforz ikkoordinat sewwa fost il-partijiet interessati kollha. Huwa inkredibbli kif il-Ministeru għall-Ambjent jidher li daħal fi skema li aktar tidher li hija skema biex xi wħud jagħmlu kemxa flus ġmielha milli biex verament jitħarsu l-baħar u l-bajjiet tagħna.
Il-kelliem tal-Alternattiva Demokratika għall-Ambjent Urban, James Gabarretta, qal li filwaqt li jappoġġja kampanji biex neħilsu l-bajjiet mill-plastik, madankollu dawn il-kampanji jeħtieġu aktar ħsieb. Dikjarazzjonijiet li għandna xi bajjiet ħielsa mill-plastik mingħajr pjan prattiku u fit-tul biex verament neliminaw l-iskart huma qarrieqa u jwasslu messaġġ ħażin.
Minflok ma sar pjan u investiment biex jiġi indirizzat it-tniġġis mill-plastik, inkluż billi l-ministeru jinsisti fuq bidla fil-mudell ekonomiku tagħna, kemm lokalment kif ukoll f’fora tal-UE u internazzjonali, il-Ministeru tal-Ambjent ħa l-eħfef triq u tellgħa bandiera bajda, filwaqt li l-problema tal-iskart tal-plastik baqgħet. Gabarretta żied “Xi jfisser dan? Ċertament huwa pożittiv li wieħed jipprova jnaqqas l-iskart tal-plastik minħabba d-dannu li jikkawża lill-ambjent marittimu, ‘l-katina tal-ikel u ‘l-valur estetiku tax-xtut tagħna “. Huwa żied li “madankollu l-gvern iddeċieda li jagħżel is-soluzzjoni l-iktar assurda, li m’hi soluzzjoni xejn”. Malta hija soġġetta għal tniġġis tal-plastik tal-baħar minn madwar il-Mediterran kollu. Għaldaqstant, sforz serju biex jitnaqqas l-iskart fil-baħar jeħtieġ li jkun ikkoordinat mal-partijiet interessati kollha fejn ikun possibbli. Dan jinkludi ħidma għal soluzzjonijiet politiċi ma l-imsieħba Ewropej tagħna u pajjiżi oħra tal-Mediterran.”
Gabarretta qal ukoll li għandhom jinstabu modi biex jiġi appoġġjat ix-xogħol ta NGOs lokali li konsistentement iddedikaw l-enerġiji tagħhom biex iżommu l-ambjent tagħna fi stat tajjeb. L-inizjattiva White Flag hija ġest offensiv għall-ħidma tal-NGOs lokali. Il-kelliem ta’ AD iddikjara li “Aħna nemmnu bis-sħiħ li s-separazzjoni tal-iskart fuq il-bajjiet tinvolvi ħafna iktar milli tgħolli bandiera. Huwa ċar li anki fuq bajjiet ċertifikati bħala ‘Blue Flag’ hemm ħafna sfidi li għadhom ma ġewx indirizzati biżżejjed. Għalhekk qabel ma tinġieb skema oħra ta’ ċertifikazzjoni, li allegatament fil-każ tal-‘White Flag’ hija skema finta, aħna nipproponu li l-isfidi jiġu ffaċċjati f’koordinazzjoni mal-partijiet interessati kollha, ewlenin fosthom l-NGOs lokali. Fl-aħħar mill-aħħar għandna bżonn azzjoni leġiżlattiva biex jitnaqqas l-użu tal-plastik, li nimxu lejn ekonomija ekoloġika u sostenibbli, u li niżguraw li min iniġġes iħallas tad-dannu li jagħmel.”
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Raising a White Flag to Marine Pollution
Plans to make Malta a so-called White Flag Beach country are nonsensical without a proper coordinated effort among all relevant stakeholders. It is incredible how the Ministry for the Environment seemingly rushed into a ‘scheme’ which looks more like a ‘scam’.
Alternattiva Demokratika spokesperson for the Urban Environment, James Gabarretta, stated that it supports campagins to free beaches from plastic, however such campaigns require more thought. Declaring plastic free beaches without any practical long term plan to implement this elimation of waste is misleading and conveys a wrong message.
Instead of investing in real plans to address plastic pollution, including insisting on a change to our economic model, both locally and at EU and international fora, the Ministry for the Environment has raised a white flag to plastic waste. Gabarretta questioned “What does this mean? Admittedly it is positive to try to reduce plastic waste due to the damage it causes to the marine environment, food supply and the aesthetic value of our shores”. He added that “however it is nonsensical that the government has decided to take an expensive short cut and choose the most absurd solution”. Malta is subject to marine borne plastic pollution, which is washed up from all around the Mediterranean. Therefore a serious effort to reduce marine litter needs to be coordinated with all stakeholders wherever possible. This includes working for political solutions with our European partners and other Mediterranean countries.”
Gabarretta also said that ways should be sought to support the work of local NGOs who have consistently dedicated their time to keep our environment in a good state. The White Flag initiative is only an offensive and expensive gesture to the work of local NGOs. The AD spokesperson stated that “We strongly believe that waste separation on beaches involves much more than raising a flag. It is clear that even on Blue Flag certified beaches, there are many challenges which have not been adequately addressed yet. Therefore before bringing in another certification scheme, which is reportedly a scam, we are advocating that challenges are faced in coordination with all the relevant stakeholders. Ultimately what we need is legislative action to reduce the use of plastic, move towards a sustainable green economy based, and to ensure that polluters really pay for the damage they do.”
