Let’s increase Environmental Protection in Malta

The newly formed NGO Malta Ranger Unit (VO/2443) seeks to increase its manpower and the gear for the Rangers to safely carry out their duty to safeguard the natural environment through education, monitoring and legal action.

Malta Ranger Unit Community July 21, 2023 at 8:20 am
  • Description
  • Backers

Project Description

Malta Ranger Unit is a newly registered Maltese eNGO (VO/2443) with safeguarding the environment as their main priority. The Unit came about after a group of people observed that the ratio between occurring environmental crimes in the Maltese countryside and the successful prosecution in Court was not on the side of the environment.

They came up with policies to tackle the following main challenges.

  1. People seemed to not be aware of the Environmental Laws of Malta and it led to few reports being filed.
  2. There is a climate of fear when it comes to reporting crimes, with the witness worrying about repercussions.
  3. When witness was willing to testify in court, the evidence wasn’t enough for successful prosecution.

The Rangers of MRU are continuously trained in Environmental Law, how to monitor breaches and how to document them for successful prosecution by the Authorities. MRU is 100% independent, meaning that all of our operations are solely funded by public and corporate donations. In being so, we guarantees a high level of integrity, particularly when it comes to highlighting systematic bureaucracy in the legislative and enforcement agencies.

(MRU already had many successful cases monitoring illegal dumping of waste, illegal fishing and illegal poaching among others)

The Unit’s main aims are to Protect the natural environment, Empower the Public through education and to Prevent environmental crimes. We wish to highlight that the indirect effect of safeguarding the natural environment is an improvement in the general mental health of the Public.

Our Rangers wish to highlight this correlation between a healthy environment and a healthy mind by writing a book on the topic. In August 2023 two of our Rangers will take off on an epic one month journey, walking 800 km across Spain to complete the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

During their walk, our Rangers will meet up with some amazing individuals, private persons and professionals within the field. They will compile the most heartfelt and interesting stories of the People of the Camino together with their own input on how the natural environment affects their mental health. The content of this book will be accompanied by photos representing the ups and downs of life and how nature can be used as a tool for us to cope with mental health challenges.

When they are back in Malta, the season will take off and we need not only more Rangers employed, but also equip them to make a better job in documenting illegalities. The daily operation to monitor the Maltese countryside and rural areas is costly and the Unit therefore launched this fundraiser to enable us to carry out or duty to safeguard our environment for the future generations to enjoy.

If you believe that Environmental Protection, Enforcement and Education matters, then this is the good cause you should invest in. A membership subscription with the MRU is an investment in your own, as well as others’ wellbeing. For less than the cost of two cappuccinos you can make your voice heard!

Share Project
show more