A total of €60,000 is being invested in developing and improving two bird sanctuaries in Malta.

Għadira Nature Reserve and the Simar Nature Reserve, which are under the supervision of BirdLife Malta, will receive new products and machinery for tree-planting and the installation of security cameras.

Moreover, the funds will go towards the creation of a new research laboratory in Simar as well as new sanitary facilities at Għadira.

“Our natural heritage needs to be protected just like any other form of heritage,” Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said at a press conference attended by representatives of Birdlife Malta, ERA and Ambjent Malta earlier today. 

“The purpose of these interventions being carried out around Natura 2000 sites is to protect our natural environment, ensuring the sites are kept in a good state to be enjoyed in the most sustainable way by everyone, creating a balance between the use of these sites and their conservation,” he said.

The aim of the program is to help improve the livelihood and propagation of protected bird species and comes less than a month after the government awarded the management of Miżieb and Aħrax to hunting lobby group, FKNK.

The decision proved to be highly controversial, with many feeling that it favoured hunters over the general public by imposing certain limitations on public land.

Moreover, the safeguarding of protected species has long been a contentious and problematic issue with protected birds being shot down regularly, including earlier today, with the discovery of an injured kestrel allegedly shot down illegally. 

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