Addressing the environmental deficit

 

The environmental deficit is constantly on the increase. Each generation creates additional  environmental impacts without in any way adequately addressing the accumulated impacts handed down by the previous generation.

Governments are worried by economic deficits yet few seem to be worried by the accumulated -and accumulating – environmental deficit. We are using the earth’s resources as if tomorrow will never come.

The Living Planet report published regularly by the World Wildlife Fund, demonstrates how the demands made by humanity globally exceed the planet’s biocapacity. In fact,  each year we consume 50% more than what  is produced by the planet.

The ecological footprint, that is the impact which each country has on the earth’s resources, varies geographically. On a global level, the average ecological footprint of a human being is 1.7 hectares. Malta’s ecological footprint has been calculated at around 3.9 hectares per person, more than double the global average. This adds up to an impact of around 50 times the area of the Maltese Islands.

Put simply, this means that in order to satisfy the needs of  each and every person in Malta  we are, in fact, utilising land in other countries.  In fact we import most of our requirements from other countries, thereby using their natural resources. We use  their air, their land, their water and their natural resources.

The politics of sustainable development seeks to view  and address these impacts holistically. It also considers today’s impacts  in the light of tomorrow’s needs and seeks to ingrain a sense of responsibility in decision-making. It does this by addressing the root causes of the environmental deficit.

Sustainable development policy understands that Maltese roads are bursting at the seams. We have reached a situation where improving the road network will improve neither connectivity nor the quality of the air we breath.  Malta’s small size should have made it easy ages ago to have excellent connectivity through public transport, with better air quality as a bonus. But it was ignored.

A sustainable water policy in Malta would have dictated better utilisation of rainwater. Instead, we spend millions of euros- including a chunk of EU funds- to ensure that instead of collecting rainwater we channel it straight into the Mediterranean Sea, only to harvest seawater  immediately through our reverse osmosis  plants. To make matters worse, we treat wastewater before dumping it into the sea when, with some extra thought (and expense) it would have been put to much better use.

Sustainable development embedded in our land use policy would lead to a substantial reduction in the land available for development and certainly to a strict ODZ protection protocol. Instead, we are faced with a situation resulting in a high number of vacant properties coupled with a nonchalant attitude to developing more agricultural land, as if we had a lot to spare!

The environmental deficit which has been accumulating over the years places us in a very precarious position as we cannot keep living on ecological credit for long.   Excessive ecological credit will inevitably lead to ecological bankruptcy from which neither the EU nor the International Monetary Fund will be able to bail us out.  The only solution is taking our environmental responsibilities seriously, before it is too late.

published in the Malta Independent on Sunday, 7 June 2015

Living on Ecological Credit

published

Saturday July23, 2011

An informal meeting of EU ministers of the environment held in Poland earlier this month reminded us that we are living on ecological credit. Our balance sheet with nature is in the red. It is healthy that EU politicians have recognised this fact.

Environmentalists have been campaigning for ages that the world is living beyond its means. International NGO WWF, for example, publishes information relative to ecological footprint analysis. From the information available, Malta’s ecological footprint is 3.9 hectares per person. This can be compared to an EU average of 4.9 hectares per person (ranging from a minimum of 3.6 for Poland and Slovakia to a maximum of 7.0 for Sweden and Finland) and a world average of 2.2 hectares per person.

This adds up to a total impact for Malta of about 50 times the area of the Maltese islands. A clear indication of the extent of Malta’s reliance on ecological credit.

Malta’s environmental impacts are accentuated due to the islands’ high population density.

Malta’s small size is in some respects an advantage but this advantage has been generally ignored throughout the years. The reform of public transport, currently in hand, could someday put the issue of size to good use by developing an efficient system of communication. This reform, however, has to be properly managed. Preliminary indications point to a completely different direction. I do not exclude the possibility of the achievement of positive results even if, so far, I am disappointed.

The results the Greens hope to be achieved from the public transport reform would be the increased use of public transport and, consequently, a reduction in the number of cars on the road. This will come about if bus routes are more commuter-friendly. A reduction of cars on the road will lead to less emissions and a reduction of transport-generated noise. It would also cut a household’s expenditure through the reduction of fuel costs.

Water management in Malta also contributes considerably to the island’s ecological deficit.

The commissioning of the Ta’ Barkat sewage purification plant means that Malta is now in line with the provisions of the EU Urban Wastewater Directive. But the actual design of the sewage purification infrastructure means that by discharging the purified water into the sea an opportunity of reducing the pressure on ground water and the production of reverse osmosis-produced water has been lost. The purified water could easily be used as second-class water or it could be polished for other uses. When the Mellieħa sewage purification plant was inaugurated it was announced that studies into the possible uses of the purified water were to be carried out. These studies should have been undertaken before the sewage purification infrastructure was designed as they could have led to a differently designed infrastructure. The system as designed means that any eventual use of the purified water will require its transport from the purification plants to the point of use. A properly designed system could have reduced these expenses substantially by producing the purified water along the route of the public sewers and close to the point of use.

Public (and EU) funds have been wrongly used. Water planners have not carried out their duty towards the community they serve through lack of foresight and by not having an inkling of sustainability issues.

It also means that those who advised the head of state to inform the current Parliament’s inaugural session in May 2008 that “the government’s plans and actions are to be underpinned by the notion of sustainable development” were not aware what that statement signifies. Repeatedly, the government, led by Lawrence Gonzi, falls short of addressing adequately environmental impacts, as a result pushing these islands further down the road of dependence on ecological credit.

The government could have opted for a fresh start in May 2008 by implementing the National Sustainable Development Strategy, approved by Cabinet some months prior to the 2008 election. Instead, I am reliably informed that the National Commission for Sustainable Development has not met a single time during the past 42 months. As a consequence, the strategy has been practically shelved and discarded.

I cannot and will not say that there have not been any environmental initiatives. While various initiatives have been undertaken, some only address impacts partially. Others have been embarked upon half-heartedly. It is also clear to all that government environmental action does not form part of a holistic vision. It rather resembles the linking up of loose pieces of unrelated jigsaw puzzle bits.

This contrasts sharply with the public’s awareness and expectations. The public is one step ahead awaiting its representatives to act in a responsible manner in accordance with their much-publicised statements.

Excessive ecological credit will inevitably lead to ecological bankruptcy. No EU or IMF will bail us out. It’s better to take our environmental responsibilities seriously before it is too late.

Tackling Sustainable Development

published on May 2, 2009

by Carmel Cacopardo

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Ecological Footprint analysis is a planning tool: it accounts for the manner in which the earth’s resources are used to satisfy our needs, and converts the result into the corresponding land area required. It highlights dependence on nature and quantifies this dependence, thus focusing attention on the link between consumption and the earth’s bio-capacity.

The first step in the road leading to sustainability is to understand the ecological reality of our impacts. Ignoring this reality and continuing on a business-as-usual strategy would mean that we do not care about what will be bequeathed to future generations.

Ecological Footprint analysis is therefore a tool through which we can estimate the consumption of resources and the waste assimilation requirements of an economy in terms of the land area required. It considers the land required by an economy for food, housing, transport, consumer goods and services.

The World Wide Fund publishes information on a regular basis relative to ecological footprint analysis. From the information available, Malta’s ecological footprint is 3.9 hectares per person. The EU average is 4.9 ha, ranging from a minimum of 3.6 ha for Poland and Slovakia to a maximum of 7 ha for Sweden and Finland. The world average on the other hand is 2.2 ha: the USA having a footprint of 9.5 ha, with China having a footprint of 1.5 ha. China’s footprint is obviously on the increase (source: WWF: Europe 2005, the Ecological Footprint).

With a population estimated at 410,000 and an area of 316 square kilometres, the above signifies that Malta’s consumption patterns are impacting a land area of about 50 times the size of the Maltese islands. This information could place the politics of sustainable development in Malta in its proper perspective.

Such a high impact is necessarily linked to the high population density of the Maltese islands. It is also however the result of the fact that, as a nation, we lag far behind in adopting sustainable practices. For example, as a country we did not use our small size to our advantage in order to develop sustainable transport policies that, through an increased use of public transport, could gradually lead towards the substantial reduction of road traffic. Gimmicks as those associated with the “environmental criteria” of the revised car registration and circulation tax will not solve the matter, as they are just designed to protect the Exchequer and only use environmental criteria as a means to compute taxation.

Transport is one of the issues in respect of which, a Maltese government, serious about the pursuit of sustainable development, could achieve results. Tangible results would be fewer cars on the road and, consequently, less emissions, which are damaging our health in addition to contributing towards climate change.

Readers would remember that the reform of public transport has been continuously on the agenda for at least the past 15 years. Notwithstanding the injection of millions of euros in public funds, no tangible results are yet in sight.

The use of energy is another major contributor to Malta’s ecological footprint. The projected wind farms are essential in this respect. Now that some studies and documentation has been made available to the public, an informed public discussion may be possible. It is however imperative that additional alternative sites are also taken into consideration if these are identified, even at this stage.

While macro projects are being planned, more attention should be given to initiatives on a micro level. In the area of renewable energy generation these micro projects and initiatives could, if implemented, add up to a substantial contribution to satisfy the need and demand for clean energy.

What about, for example, ensuring that all new development is provided with solar water heaters at roof level? While this would not cost one cent to the Exchequer it would undoubtedly require revisiting land use planning policies relative to the provision of penthouses, policies of which were rather relaxed in the recent past. Malta’s land use planning policies should, as a result, be less elastic than they have been in the last years in this respect.

What about the use of micro wind turbines? When will Mepa tackle the issue by producing a policy which encourages their use for discussion?

Sustainable development, if seriously tackled, could impact all areas of policy and not just those referred to above.

To actively pursue the sustainable development path, initiatives that reduce ecological impacts and simultaneously improve our quality of life are required. Notwithstanding all the talk, the government has not yet embraced this path wholeheartedly and, as a result, (unfortunately) the sustainability gap is widening. This gap can be reduced if talk and action correspond more often