As Wildfires Rip Through Maltese Fields, MEP Proposes Farmland Registry To Get Rid Of Derelict Land
From Għasri to Delimara, Malta has been plagued by wildfires this summer, with farmers and landowners losing their crops in the blink of an eye.
Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba has now proposed a measure to alleviate their woes – a public registry to record ownership of agricultural land, private land and those leased via the qbiela system alike.
“As though farmers didn’t already have enough on their plate, they now have to deal with wildfires too,” Agius Saliba said.
“We need an agricultural land registry to rid ourselves once and for all of these abandoned and derelict lands that are often the source of wildfires that end up spreading to farmers’ crops.”
Agius Saliba told Lovin Malta that providing such a sense of visibility will allow the authorities to oblige landowners to keep their land in a proper state.
“With a person responsible for every parcel of land, there can be obligations for all the land to be worked and kept in a good state,” he said. “This will lead to less damage through wildfires and better use of fields, the usage of which is constantly on the decline.”
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Besides natural causes, some wildfires have also been caused by stray fireworks, with a recent incident causing thousands in material damages.
Early in June, the central western area of Dwejra – near Rabat and Mġarr – was rocked after a fireworks factory in a rural area suffered a series of explosions that caused mass fires across fields and ridges in the area. Thankfully, the volunteers working there escaped with only slight injuries.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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