ABSTRACT
Malta is a tiny island state located south of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. Given its size, the entire country might be defined as a “coastal zone” and, of course, Malta relies heavily on its coasts for its economic development – particularly tourism and industrial uses. The Maltese coast draws much foreign investment in housing and hotels. In this cross-national study, Malta is the only country which is not a member of the OECD. This chapter tells the story of a country whose government policy has historically emphasized economic performance at the expense of environmental concerns and has never developed a framework for coastal management. In recent years, the authorities have, at least formally, weakened regulations pertaining to the protection of coastal areas. They have removed prohibitions on construction and specific uses on the country's beaches and withdrawn a previous commitment to bring all the shoreline into public ownership. As such, there is much legal ambiguity over the rules of coastal protection. Perhaps because of those government actions, the country has seen a rise in activism by members of civil society who are seeking better protection of the coastal environment; but their capacity to act is still limited.
