Malta is one of the top three EU member states failing to enforce biodiversity legislation, according to a new report by Birdlife International.

The report, entitled '2010 - Turning or Breaking Point for Europe's Wildlife?' analyses the progress towards the 2010 biodiversity target against 10 major groups of indicators.

Malta's performance was only adequate in the transposition of international legislation into national law, but the country failed to reach adequate standards when it came to implementation and enforcement.

In 11 out of 18 categories, Malta's performance was evaluated as 'highly insufficient'. These included the status of species and habitats of EC importance, enforcement of biodiversity legislation, management plans and conservation status of protected areas and public awareness.

In six categories, Malta's performance was deemed 'inadequate'. These include the status of birds, biodiversity research and monitoring and environmental governance.

The findings are in line with the most recent State of the Environment Report published by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which states that 64 per cent of habitats and 44 per cent of species listed in the Habitats Directive have an inadequate or bad conservation status, while the status of 29 per cent of Maltese habitats and 36 per cent of Maltese species is still unknown.