Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħja (FAA), a member of the ‘Spazji Miftuħa’ coalition, strenuously condemns the government gifting il-Miżieb and l-Aħrax tal-Mellieha, to the hunters’ federation, Federazzjoni Kaccaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti (FKNK). These sites, both public lands, make up more than five times the size of Buskett, and are now to be effectively denied to picnickers, walkers, campers and families because of year-round danger from gun-fire and hunting-related activities.
Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar points out that Federazzjoni Kaccaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti (FKNK) poses as an NGO, but it is not a voluntary organisation that works towards the betterment of Malta for everyone. FKNK is a self-benefitting NGO that promotes the narrow interests of its own members. Furthermore, for way too long, il-Miżieb and l-Aħrax have only been available to a select group of FKNK members.
The signing of this secret contract in such haste points to political agendas. FAA maintains that the contract should not be signed until a land survey of the location and dimensions of the sites, includes a record of the plantings and habitats, as well as the rights, restrictions and responsibilities of the parties involved. And the government should immediately embark on building a land cadastre registry that would be available to everyone thus providing transparency in the land sector. The management committee should also include members of the public to ensure the rights of picnickers, walkers, and other users of these large PUBLIC areas.
For this Government to deny that space to our general public, desperately in need of open green areas, while handing over this vast tract of countryside to a narrow interest group of bird-killers, makes a mockery of the government’s claims to sustainability and environmental protection.
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