We refer to the news item Birdlife, Mepa Disagree On Protected Bird Areas (May 31). According to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa), Malta has designated as much as 15 per cent of its territory as protected in terms of nature protection considerations, particularly in relation to the EU's Natura 2000 Network. We certainly agree with Mepa that Malta has been actively working on nature conservation areas for many years and, of all the EU member states that joined the bloc in 2004, Malta is, in fact, the most advanced.
Contrary to the declaration made by Tolga Temuge, BirdLife Malta's executive director, we do not think that the government is failing us as citizens regarding nature conservation sites on these islands.
Ta' Ċenċ in Gozo, for example, is partially covered by Special Protection Areas status. The Ta' Ċenċ cliffs are home to a number of rare endemic plant species and significant numbers of breeding birds, including several rare or declining species.
It must be emphasised that they have been so for centuries without the need of diktats from Brussels.
Ta' Ċenċ is renowned for its breeding colonies of seabirds, including the largest breeding colony of Cory's shearwaters in the Maltese islands, and colonies of Yelkouan shearwaters and European storm-petrels. Again, it must be stressed that this has been the case since time immemorial.
Far from dragging its feet, as alleged by Mr Temuge, the Maltese government has put enough safeguards in place to keep things that way on such an important issue.
If Mr Temuge finds it "unacceptable", he is free to go back to Turkey to persuade the government there to designate all internationally Important Bird Areas as Special Protection Areas, as required by Europe's biodiversity and Turkey's infinitely more important obligation to protect the world's biodiversity in view of its geographical position.
Instead of criticising the Maltese Prime Minister, the BirdLife (Malta) executive director should give top priority to salvage his fast-fading reputation.
For a start, he should answer the questions raised in our letter The Public's Right To Know (May 26) in this newspaper regarding the Yelkouan Shearwater project involving an EU grant of €1 million.
The citizens of Malta are waiting. We think it is Mr Temuge who should stop dragging his feet, as he is fast becoming a european-wide embarrassment to BirdLife (Malta).