It-Tokk Trees Saved

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) welcomes the MEPA Environment and Planning Review Tribunal’s decision to refuse the Victoria Local Council’s appeal to uproot the trees lining Pjazza Independenza (it-Tokk). FAA has been campaigning to save the trees and even issued a court injunction calling on MEPA to refuse the uprooting.

 

At a time when the EU has just reported that some 220 people a year die prematurely due to air pollution in Malta, it is ever more important to plant trees and preserve existing mature trees in polluted urban areas such as Victoria’s ‘it-Tokk’ area. Trees reduce air pollution which causes breathing problems, contribute to various cancers especially lung cancer, heart disease, reproductive problems and also dementia.  Scientific studies have shown that the presence of trees reduces mental stress, improving students’ concentration and academic performance.   Large trees reduce electricity consumption by shading buildings in summer while shielding them from wind in winter. Trees also boost business around it-Tokk by drawing tourists to this square.

 

Contrary to what was claimed by the Local Council, a leading archaeologist has confirmed to MEPA that uprooting these trees would do far more damage to any archaeology beneath the square than leaving them in place.

 

Biologist Alfred Baldacchino stated: “The decision by the Appeals board against the uprooting of the it-Tokk Trees in Gozo Independence Square is indeed good news. This shows that eNGOs and individuals, with determination can be part of a decision. This is good news for everyone concerned, that is: society, the environment, and the commercial interest. These will all benefit. One hopes that this is a harbinger of things to come.

 

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar urges the Victoria Local Council to do everything possible to help the trees recover from the damage caused by the ‘embellishment’ of the square. The NGO again offers the services of Ian Lansley, expert UK arborist, to consult the council, as professional pruning can decrease the roosting of birds and reduce droppings in the square.

 

In 2006 the United Nations launched a campaign to plant a billion trees; thanks to partners as far-flung as Brazil, Borneo, Kenya, India, the US and China, this target was reached well before the deadline and now countries are launching Trees for Cities campaigns, with New York having planted over one million trees as a way of improving the quality of life of its urban communities. FAA urges Malta’s authorities to adopt similar street tree-planting schemes which would be very effective in combating our air pollution and lack of urban green spaces.