Heritage should get its share - FAA
Published on the Times of Malta on Monday 3rd November, 2008.
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) called for funding in today's budget for national heritage restoration and "scrupulous governance" of available EU funds.
In a statement issued yesterday, FAA also called for "sufficient funds" to be allocated to Mepa's Environment Protection Directorate and MRA, allowing them to operate effectively and be in a position to issue national policies on water, energy, transport and tourism, adding that "realistic" funding is also required for the Eco-Island project to get started.
The heritage NGO said that it considers this year's budget a "crucial one" on both the heritage as well as the environment front.
FAA also called on the government to activate the Heritage Trust, intended to provide grants for the restoration of listed buildings.
Given that this trust was also envisaged for the acquisition of buildings or land, FAA maintained that the government should immediately purchase, at non-development rates, project sites at Ramla l-Ħamra and Ħondoq ir-Rummien, and make them available for projects of "public benefit".
Malta's obligations to start producing alternative energy can no longer be postponed, it said, adding that it is calling for "realistic incentives" to encourage widespread use of alternative energy in the domestic, commercial, agriculture and industrial sectors.
The NGO also said that initiatives are also required to assist in the implementation of energy efficiency measures in buildings such as double-glazing and insulation, as well as in the construction of rainwater cisterns for all buildings. Enforcement of these regulations, the FAA insisted, should be coupled with the establishment of a 10 per cent renewable energy requirement for all major projects.
Regarding the illegal extraction of water, the FAA said that, while the borehole registration exercise is a step in the right direction, it has to be followed up by direct and immediate action, such as the metering of registered boreholes.
Investment is urgently required, it added, to replace groundwater use by making treated sewage effluent and gathered rainwater available to agriculture and industry.
The subsidy on electricity consumed by Water Services Corporation should be removed, FAA maintained, while a nation-wide educational campaign on energy and water savings in all sectors would help to limit consumption.
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) called for funding in today's budget for national heritage restoration and "scrupulous governance" of available EU funds.
In a statement issued yesterday, FAA also called for "sufficient funds" to be allocated to Mepa's Environment Protection Directorate and MRA, allowing them to operate effectively and be in a position to issue national policies on water, energy, transport and tourism, adding that "realistic" funding is also required for the Eco-Island project to get started.
The heritage NGO said that it considers this year's budget a "crucial one" on both the heritage as well as the environment front.
FAA also called on the government to activate the Heritage Trust, intended to provide grants for the restoration of listed buildings.
Given that this trust was also envisaged for the acquisition of buildings or land, FAA maintained that the government should immediately purchase, at non-development rates, project sites at Ramla l-Ħamra and Ħondoq ir-Rummien, and make them available for projects of "public benefit".
Malta's obligations to start producing alternative energy can no longer be postponed, it said, adding that it is calling for "realistic incentives" to encourage widespread use of alternative energy in the domestic, commercial, agriculture and industrial sectors.
The NGO also said that initiatives are also required to assist in the implementation of energy efficiency measures in buildings such as double-glazing and insulation, as well as in the construction of rainwater cisterns for all buildings. Enforcement of these regulations, the FAA insisted, should be coupled with the establishment of a 10 per cent renewable energy requirement for all major projects.
Regarding the illegal extraction of water, the FAA said that, while the borehole registration exercise is a step in the right direction, it has to be followed up by direct and immediate action, such as the metering of registered boreholes.
Investment is urgently required, it added, to replace groundwater use by making treated sewage effluent and gathered rainwater available to agriculture and industry.
The subsidy on electricity consumed by Water Services Corporation should be removed, FAA maintained, while a nation-wide educational campaign on energy and water savings in all sectors would help to limit consumption.
posted by Hondoq at
7:04 AM
