Nature and biodiversity (6)

Once Malta became a member state of the European Union it had the obligation under the EC Habitats and Birds Directives to contribute to the creation of the Natura 2000 network in proportion to the representation within its territory of the natural habitat types and the habitats of species.

As a result of this obligation, Malta had submitted to the European Commission a number of sites to form part of this important network.

The first submission was made back in 2004, following an extensive data collation and evaluation exercise by Mepa, with the assistance of national experts, commissioned through a grant of the Council of Europe as part of the Emerald Network project. Further submissions, together with updates, were made following the collation and review of further scientific data, as well as discussions with DG Environment.

To date, Malta has designated 34 terrestrial Natura 2000 sites, 27 of which are terrestrial special areas of conservation (SACs) that are designated under the EU Habitats Directive, 13 sites are special protection areas (SPAs) which are designated under the EU Birds Directive but six of these sites are also SACs.

Another Natura 2000 site has been designated in the marine environment and four new sites have also been designated as marine protected areas and are proposed for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network.