Malta needs an effective water policy – UN climate change ambassador

The Malta Independent: Malta needs an effective water policy that would specify ways of harvesting rain water and recycling waste water, for instance, said Michael Zammit Cutajar, Malta's UN ambassador on climate change. Speaking at a national seminar on health effects of climate change at the Radisson SAS Baypoint Resort yesterday, Mr Zammit Cutajar said climate change will accentuate the country’s vulnerability to water stress.

It’s getting hotter and it’s raining less, while the rising sea level will contaminate the aquifer, he said. This highlights the importance of an effective water policy, which would include ways of making the desalination system more efficient, though it must be said that the country has made regular progress in this regard, said Mr Zammit Cutajar.

He stressed the need for much better water catchment, storage, distribution, and recycling. Mr Zammit Cutajar said climate change demands a coherent approach: the government as a whole has to work towards adaptation and resilience.

However, he said, a great chunk of action can be carried out on an individual basis, by making environment friendly choices on a daily basis. “Malta is too small to affect the big picture, but it has to adapt to change. As for reductions in emissions, we cannot do much ourselves, but we must push for an ambitious global strategy, otherwise the problem will get much worse for us.”…

The Blue Lagoon on Comino Island, Malta, shot by Picman