Talks are underway for the creation of an agency to manage Malta’s Natura 2000 sites.

The agency will be separate from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Environment Minister Mario de Marco said.

Addressing a news conference at Mepa, Dr de Marco said that 30 management plans for Malta’s 34 Natura 2000 sites, which cover 13 per cent of the land area on the Maltese islands, are being drawn up.

These plans are being drafted by Greek company Epsilon in collaboration with the Maltese consultancy firm ADI Associates.

The process started last October and will be concluded by November. It will include an assessment of the people’s awareness about these sites and how this could be improved.

Dr de Marco assured environmental NGOs currently managing eight of these sites, such as the GAIA Foundation and BirdLife, that the plans would not interfere with their excellent work on these sites.

The awareness surveys are already being held and data is being collected. From tomorrow, ADI will start to meet the relevant stakeholders from local councils to private land owners and NGOs.

ADI managing director Adrian Mallia explained that Natura 2000 is an EU-wide network of protected areas which made up 20 per cent of EU land.

Unlike the old system of nature reserves, Natura 2000 sites allow for human contact and sustainable and compatible land use.