Italian govt blasted
2006-03-08 15:24
Rome - Green campaign group WWF accused
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government on Wednesday of
using its five years in power to reduce starkly the levels of
environmental protection within Italy.
Less than five weeks ahead of a general election that
Berlusconi looks likely to lose, the Italian arm of the group
formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund said his government
had failed the environment on every level.
"The 2001-2006 season was characterised by a true
'counter-reform' of radical (legislative) changes never seen
before which have left environmental and cultural protection in
Italy decidedly weaker," WWF Italia said in a statement.
It said the government had altered regulations on waste
disposal which meant "tens of millions of tonnes of industrial
waste could potentially avoid any controls".
There was no immediate response from the Environment
Ministry.
Zero growth over two years
The WWF, usually a moderate advocate of environmentalism,
conducted what it called a "balance sheet" exercise of policies
of the last five years and concluded environmental rules had
"run wild".
One high-profile government initiative was a building
amnesty that allowed people living in houses that were built or
altered without planning permission to legalise their situation
on payment of a fine.
Environmentalists say that encouraged yet more unauthorised
building which has ravaged parts of the country's coastline and
other sensitive areas.
"This isn't the judgment of 'extremists' as
environmentalists are often portrayed," WWF's Gaetano Benedetto
said of the group's 380-page assessment.
WWF said it had "chosen not to get into political opinions
but to analyse the facts in terms of legal principles or the
consequences they have had or could have".
The April election is being fought almost entirely on the
economy, with Italy having recorded zero growth in two of the
last three years. However, regional environmental issues,
especially controversial plans to build a bridge from the
mainland to Sicily and a high-speed railway through the Alps,
are likely to have a local electoral impact.
Italy's main Green party, part of the centre-left "Union"
coalition led by Romano Prodi, commands around 2% of the
vote, recent polls show, unchanged from the 2001 election.