Natura 2000 is an EU-wide network of nature conservation areas, established to ensure the survival of Europe’s most valuable and threatened terrestrial and marine species and habitats for present and future generations.

Some six years after the environmental authorities in the last administration had pledged that complete plans for all Natura 2000 sites would be published by 2014, the Environmental Resources Authority has finally completed all the national management plans. Let us be thankful for small mercies. Given the government’s cack-handed handling of the break-up of the former Malta Environment and Planning Authority, it is remarkable that Malta finally has any Natura 2000 plans at all.

Malta has 34 such sites, which include natural treasures. The names of the Natura 2000 sites alone evoke the by-gone beauty of so much of Malta’s countryside. In various areas, different species of plants and animals interact with each other and with their natural habitat to form unique eco-systems needing protection.

Natura 2000 sites account for almost 14 per cent of the country’s territory, compared to a European average of about 20 per cent. But when one considers that over the last 35 years Malta’s agricultural land has been reduced by construction development from almost half of the land area to about one third today, it is immediately apparent that the areas designated for protection as Natura 2000 sites represent a significant proportion of our remaining precious natural environment.

In some cases, the species in the Natura 2000 sites are not found anywhere else in the world, thus constituting a crucial part not only of Malta’s natural heritage but also the world’s. These sites constitute a vital element in safeguarding Malta’s remaining natural heritage landscape.

It can be seen, therefore, that the future efficient management, oversight protection and administration of the Natura 2000 sites are matters of considerable importance not only to Malta but also to Europe and to global biodiversity.

The management plans which are site specific and were drawn up in consultation with key stakeholders address the various challenges faced by each of the sites, lay out objectives to protect the areas and provide guidelines for a range of responsibilities from ecological restoration to visitor management and sustainable tourism.

Malta has rightly previously been praised for its progress in designating terrestrial sites under the EU’s Habitats Directive, emerging as one of the most advanced states among those that acceded to the EU in 2004. The next logical step in the process is to ensure the proper management of all these sites.

The responsibility of the ERA is paramount in overseeing the detailed management work, including monitoring and surveillance, of those organisations already working in Natura 2000 sites and who will continue to be responsible for protecting them.

Most importantly, however, the ERA must be alert to any threat to the integrity of habitats or species present on Natura 2000 sites, whether from proposed development, any disturbance of the habitats, pollution, natural disasters or any of the depredations that the future impact of human activity on the countryside may bring.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.