Plans are afoot to create a specialised nature agency tasked with managing Malta’s Natura 2000 protected sites, Environment Minister Mario de Marco said yesterday.
The agency would be independent of Mepa, to ensure the environmental regulator’s transparency, and would not compromise environmental NGOs’ work in the sites, the minister added.
“NGOs that are already managing some of these sites have nothing to worry about. They will remain responsible for these sites,”he said.
Dr de Marco made mention of the agency at a press conference to explain the drafting of management plans for Malta’s 34 Natura 2000 sites, which cover 13.6 per cent of the country’s territory.
The 30 plans – a couple of sites will share plans – will clearly lay out the long-term conservation objectives of each of the areas and ensure any use of Natura 2000 land is compatible with the site’s ecological objectives.
The EU’s Habitats Directive makes it obligatory for member states to have working plans for their Natura 2000 sites in place by 2014. Malta’s National Environment Policy also lays out the need for management plans.
Unlike the nature reserves of old, the EU’s Natura 2000 concept does not exclude human activity from its sites, instead focusing on how to ensure activity does not negatively affect the site’s ecosystems.
Greek company Epsilon, in collaboration with local environmental consultancy firm Adi Associates, have been given until November to complete the management plans.
Adi will as of next week begin contacting stakeholders in the various sites, from local councils to NGOs or private land owners, to discuss the management plans, Adi managing director Adrian Mallia said.
“We’ll be working very closely with local councils, and the plan is for these management plans to be positive, not to restrict land use, although ultimately the ecological needs of the site are supreme,” he said.
The project will also see awareness-raising campaigns about the Natura 2000 idea and local sites designated as such, with general knowledge about the concept relatively low across the EU.
Initial surveys had shown that only around one in five Maltese could specifically identify Natura 2000 sites. Work was now underway to edge that ratio up to one in every two people, Mr Mallia said. Dr de Marco argued the importance of raising awareness of Natura 2000.
“Unless they know about sites’ importance, people cannot understand the consequences of their actions there. Land owners should not think of Natura 2000 designation as a negative, but rather as a mark of merit for their land.”