BirdLife Malta today congratulated MEPA on the recent declaration of protection areas in the Maltese islands under the European Natura 2000 network (1).

"MEPA's recent decision to designate 11 Important Bird Areas (2) in the Maltese Islands as Special Protection Areas (SPA) and the important Ta' Cenc habitat as Special Area for Conservation is an excellent move to safeguard Malta's wildlife and will surely be beneficial for people and tourism. We congratulate all MEPA staff for all the hard work they put in to realize these designations." said Tolga Temuge, BirdLife Malta's Executive Director.

To date, BirdLife Malta has designated 11 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), the majority of which were designated for internationally important seabird colonies. Initially, only four of these were given full protection as Special Protection Areas. Of the remaining IBAs, 6 were given partial protection and one, the cliffs from Wied ix-Xaqqa to Wied Moqbol, had been completely excluded from SPA coverage. But these areas are now given the EU protection it deserved by the government, BirdLife said.

The ecologically sensitive Ta' Cenc area was previously given only limited protection at the cliff side. With yesterday's announcement most of this area including the part over looking Mgar ix-Xini that has been subject to a controversial villa development proposal is also designated as a Natura 2000 site, ensuring its full protection.

"Designating ecologically important habitats and sites in Malta as protection areas is a critical step to providing Malta's seabirds and other wildlife with appropriate levels of legal protection. The next step is to prepare management plans for all these sites so that the Maltese people and tourists can enjoy and benefit more from Malta's unique nature." concluded Temuge.

Notes:

1) The EU Birds Directive requires the establishment of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds and the EU Habitats Directive similarly requires Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to be designated for other species, and for habitats. Together, SPAs and SACs make up the Natura 2000 series. All EU Member States contribute to the network of sites in a Europe-wide partnership by designating internationally important sites and habitats under the Natura 2000 network. For more information visit http://www.natura.org

2) An Important Bird Area (IBA) is an area designated as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. The program was developed by BirdLife International and the EC recognizes IBA status as being the defining criteria for the designation of SPA status.