Sustainable Tourism
The educational drawing book titled "Rosina
u l-Ghar Misterjuz" (Rosina and the Mysterious Cave) aimed
at educating children regarding sustainable tourism was widely
distributed.
A story competition for children was
organised in order to publish a booklet on sustainable tourism
written by the children of Malta and Gozo themselves. This book
will be edited and printed during 2001.
ECO distributed its policy paper on "Sustainable
Tourism" in the Maltese Islands
ECO continued its campaign on sustainable
tourism by distributing to tourists a pamphlet including ecological
tips for sustainable tourism. 100,000 copies were distributed
in various hotels.
Ulixes 21: For Sustainable Tourism in
the Mediterranean (MED Forum) was continued in Malta, and various
pamphlets distributed.
The European Union
ECO joined its European partners in requesting
the Revision of the Amsterdam Treaty. Environmental NGOs requested
four major revisions.
ECO is one of 12 environmental organisations
in EU accession countries conducting awareness and training project
to prepare environmentalists for the accession negotiations and
the public discussion around these. It is clear that accession
will have a dominant impact on the future of the environment
in Malta. The ENLA project consists of equipping the Maltese
environmental NGOs with the necessary information and structure,
to enable them to play a significant role in the accession process,
as important stakeholders. During the year 2000 the themes of
Transport and Energy were dealt with. NGOs were provided with
a book outlining the EUs position on the theme. The eight themes
that will be studied are: Waste, Energy, Transport, Water, Bio-diversity,
Agriculture, Structural Funds and Integration of environmental
policies across sectors.
The idea is for the NGOs to familiarise
themselves with EU directives in these themes; study the screening
process for Malta of each one of them; analyse the position of
the government on each one of these issues and finally prepare
a position paper of the NGOs on each theme. This would be presented
to the media and to the government.
This phase of the project will last until
November 2001 and the idea is to organise a workshop on each
theme throughout this period. The input of each NGO regarding
each theme will be presented, and discussed during the workshops
and a final position of NGOs drawn up. Till now the positions
of Maltese NGOs on Transport and Energy have been collected.
The main aim of this project is for the
NGOs to be equipped with quality information to fulfil the role
of watch dog over the accession process, particularly during
the transposition and implementation of EU directives and furthermore
during the negotiations of transitional periods.
A newsletter: THE
STAKEHOLDER will be issued as necessary to report on the
progress of the campaign. A survey on Maltese NGOs, the EU and
the environment has also been conducted by ECO. The results will
be published in the first issue, January 2001.
Participation in the meetings organised
by the Government, MEUSAC and the Malta EU Information Office
for NGOs on the EU accession process
ECO representative attended EEB training
Course on the Water Framework Directive of the European Union
in Sweden.
ECO officials attended the consultative
committees of Bulgaria, Poland Rumania, and Turkey. These were
organised by the European Economic and Social committee.
An ECO official attended a conference
on sustainable development within the European Union.
After being adopted by ECO, the NGOs
proposal for the year 2000 Intergovernmental Conference was published
in the local press. It involved various proposals to green the
treaty.
Lobbying and Law Enforcement
The campaign against Golf Courses continued
during the year 2000, with a special reference to the Verdala
Golf Course. The Policy Paper issued during 1999 was maintained
for this campaign.
The Gozo Airstrip issue was once again
dealt with. ECO once again pronounced itself against such an
ecologically unsustainable project.
ECO adhered to and published the Med
Forum Malaga Declaration on Protected Species, the Conservation
of Biodiversity and the Sustainable Development of the Mediterranean
Sea. An ECO official was present in Malaga and signed the Declaration.
ECO continued its lobby in favour of
the air-monitoring programme. ECO had various meetings with the
Minister of the Environment and government officials on the matter.
ECO joined Med Forum's Ratify the Barcelona
Convention and its Protocols campaign. Malta has signed the Convention
and all the protocols less two.
.
ECO continued to lobby for a legislation to promote glass bottles
instead of plastic ones
ECO lobbied against the tuna penning
fish farms, and off-roading in the Maltese Islands.
Photos of various illegal quarries, buildings,
dumping, roads and brick factories operating in the Island were
published. ECO urged wardens to check such issues and help the
environmental cause.
ECO continues its representation on the
Planning Authority Consultative Group. ECO voiced its opinion
on various issues.
A call was made for people to vote for
ecologically conscious counsellors during the Local Government
elections.
ECO published its policy paper and comments
on the Solid Waste Management Plan for Malta. The paper dealt
with sewage, municipal, construction, industrial, agricultural
and other waste. The comments were issued jointly with Friends
of the Earth.
Before the budget ECO asked for the application
of the Polluter Pays Principle. The Year 2001 Budget included
environmental measures such as the reduction of Value Added Tax
on Alternative Sources of Energy.
A policy paper on rubble walls was published.
ECO formed a Think Thank of experts from
various fields to assist in on specific matters.
Environmental Education
For the third year, ECO organised the
ECOLOGICAL GENERATION AWARD
which includes three prizes, one for Primary and Secondary School
Students, and a third for the public in General. This activity
awards students/adults who take up environmental initiatives.
The year 2000 winners were TV presenters Andrea Cassar and Moira
Bonello, as well as environmentalists Andy and Julie Ann Grech
and Dieudonee Farrugia. The ECO schools Award was won by the
Carlo Diacono Gulia Junior Lyceum, Zejtun.
ECO commented on the National Minimum
Curriculum of the Maltese Islands. ECO proposed that environmental
studies, that were unfortunately not included in the syllabus,
be included in other areas in a multidisciplinary manner.
Environmental talks were organised for
students on holiday in the Summer months.
ECO presented educational material to
various institutions and schools and participated in Festazghazagh
2000.
As part of the "Making
One World" Campaign various articles were published
on National Newspapers and Radio and Television interviews carried
out. The very popular Xummiemu (a hedgehog) stories were published
on the children's magazine Saghtar on a monthly basis.
The book L-Aventuri ta' Xummiemu was
reprinted due to the success of the first edition. The book gathers
the stories of this famous hedgehog as published in the leading
magazine Saghtar over the last few years.
A campaign for the protection of frogs
was organised within the theme Hallini Hoieles. The campaign
aimed to achieve an awareness of the Legal Notice No.49 of 1993
that protects frogs. A national drawing competition was organised.
734 participants sent entries and the 20 prizes were distributed
by the Minister for the Environment.
As part of the Mediterranean Information
Office campaign, Mediterranean Action Day, ECO distributed and
collected 5000 leaves including letters to the Minister for the
Environment and a picture with an environmental theme. The Millennium
Tree was built with reused materials and the leaves will be presented
to the Minister in an activity to be held during January 2001.
Various Local Councils and Schools participated in the activity.
A drawing competition was organised to
commemorate the World Oceans Day. Parliamentary Secretary Jesmond
Mugliett presented the prizes to 14 winners out of the 914 participants.
Jesmond Muglliett also presented the
prizes to the winners among the 582 posters received for the
Le ghar-Razzismu (No to racism) campaign.
One Race Human Race (Campaign
on Racism)
Call for the abolition of the death penalty
in the army.
ECO official attended the European Conference
Against Racism held by the Council of Europe.
Celebration of the UN Day Against Racism
in March (see Environmental Education above).
The International Day Against Fascism
was remembered on the 9th November through an informative article
(in conjunction with UNITED).
International Activities
and Miscellaneous
The Mediterranean Sea Campaign was organised
by ECO for Lega Ambiente in Malta
ECO collaborated with Med Forum in various
activities. ECO forms part of the Mediterranean Council of Med
Forum.
A one-day Roundtable was held to prepare
the Maltese final text for the EuroMediterreanean Process Marseilles
Summit. All NGOs were invited to participate in the drafting
of the text that was approved during the roundtable. Dr Francis
Zammit Dimech, Minister for the Environment closed the meeting.
An ECO official attended the Forum Civil EuroMed for NGOs in
Marseilles.
Earth Day was commemorated through a
series of environmental friendly proposals for households, businesses,
schools and government departments. The EarthAction Earthday
press releases, under the patronage of Leanardo de Caprio, were
issued in all the local press.
The Mediterranean Action Day was organised
on behalf of MIO-ECSDE in Malta
A tree planting session was organised
on Arbor Day and the campaign to save Tropical Forests was continued.
Various activities were held as part
of the National Clean Up the World Campaign.
An ECO official attended the Mediterranean
and IUCN World Conservation Congress, Amman, Jordan.
ECO attended the European Environmental
Bureau Annual General Meeting. During the AGM ECO was elected
on the EEB committee.
ECO actively participated in the founding
meeting of MARE, as well as meetings of the Federation of Young
European Greens, Youth and Environment Europe and Aseed.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA) campaigns were organised in Malta. Various articles were
published in the local press, mainly on animal rights and against
the use of furs. A parliamentary proposal for animal rights legislation
was supported.
