The Maltese government continues to fail its citizens by falling short of EU requirements for nature conservation sites on the island, BirdLife Malta asserted today. This, as the Natura 2000 network is being hailed as one of the greatest achievements of EU environmental policy at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) currently being held in Bonn, Germany.

"It is unacceptable," stated BirdLife Malta's Executive Director Tolga Temuge, "that the Maltese government continues to drag its feet by failing to designate all of our internationally Important Bird Areas (IBAs) into Special Protection Areas, as required by EU legislation. The IBAs in question are actually very small areas and are internationally important for sea-birds. What confounds matters further is that Prime Minister Gonzi had placed the environment as a top priority for his current administration, going as far as to absorb part of the portfolio under his direct competence. The question therefore arises as to when this government is going to put words into action."

The conservation organisation pointed to Ta' Cenc in Gozo as being a case in point, as it is one of the six IBAs which are only partially covered by SPA status. The Ta' Cenc cliffs are home to a number of rare endemic plant species and significant numbers of breeding birds, including several rare or declining species. In particular, Ta' Cenc is renowned for its internationally important breeding colonies of seabirds, including the largest breeding colony of Cory's Shearwater (Ciefa) in the Maltese islands, 150-300 pairs of Yelkouan Shearwater (Garnija), and the only colony of European Storm-petrels (Kangu ta' Filfla) outside of Filfla in the Maltese islands.

At the same time, the EU is putting into action a concerted effort to halt global loss of biodiversity in the form of the Natura 2000 network. During the conference in Bonn, EU Environment Commissioner Dimas stressed the unprecedented scale, the importance, but also the challenges of implementing Natura 2000 in a densely populated continent like Europe. Although not fully implemented yet, Natura 2000 has already helped to slow down or even reverse the decline of certain bird species. At the same time it preserves Europe's most characteristic landscapes and stabilises ecosystems. Human well-being and all economic development depend on a healthy environment. In times of climate change with more and more floods and droughts the "buffer" provided by natural areas is more important than ever.

Nevertheless, the overall loss of biodiversity continues. One of the reason for this is partly because Natura 2000 still lacks adequate financing and proper implementation on the ground.

Dr. Clairie Papazoglou, Regional Director of the European Division at BirdLife International in Brussels, explained: "Unfortunately, there are still people around who complain about Natura 2000 and who believe economic profit can be made at the expense of the environment. This is the thinking of the past. Natura 2000 is not about excluding people. On the contrary, sustainable economic activities are encouraged and necessary in many of these areas."

The economic value of ecosystems and biodiversity is increasingly in the focus of the international debate. In a recent Eurobarometer poll, 75% of the citizens surveyed agreed that Europe's economy will be poorer as a result of biodiversity loss.

"We have just a few areas that are not yet fully exploited by human activities in the Maltese islands. BirdLife, therefore, calls on the government to put words into action and give full protection to all Important Bird Areas in Malta and Gozo under the Natura 2000 network." Temuge concluded.