BirdLife Malta

Malta

BirdLife Malta

BirdLife Malta is the BirdLife Partner

Founded in: 1962
Members: 3,500
Staff: 10
Address: 57/28, Triq Abate Rigord, Ta' Xbiex, XBX 1120, MALTA
Email: office@birdlifemalta.org
Web: http://www.birdlifemalta.org

Mission of the organisation

BirdLife Malta’s mission is the protection of wild birds and their habitats.

Key Activities

• Collecting and maintaining data on bird species, sites & habitats
• Identifying Important Bird Areas
• Creating the Breeding Bird Atlases for the Maltese Islands
• Studying migrating species, particularly raptors
• Operating the only ringing scheme on the Maltese Islands (as a member of EURING)
• Running the largest conservation project on the Maltese Islands. The EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project is the largest of its kind, conducting studies on seairds (mainly the Near Threatened Yelkouan Shearwater), including identifying Important Marine Areas through tracking studies, monitoring breeding colonies and working with the Malta Fisheries to reduce by-catch.

Nature reserve

• Manage the only two Ramsar sites in Malta as nature reserves – Ghadira and is-Simar
• Provide interpretation on the site, breeding and migratory species for visitors and students
• Manage the largest afforestation project in the Maltese Islands, Foresta 2000, to recreate a Mediterranean woodland

International Activities

• Organise two annual migration observation camps, one during the peak spring migration period – Spring Watch, the other during the peak autumn migration of raptors – Raptor Camp. The purpose of the camps is to document migration, raise awareness on the importance of bird migration over the Maltese Islands, and to work with the local law enforcement authority to prevent illegal hunting and trapping of birds
• BirdLife Malta staff and volunteers also participate in international Raptor Camps held in Sicily, the aim of which is to document migration
• Work closely with the BirdLife International European Office on the full implementation of the Birds Directive in Malta
• Participates in monitoring of the Lesser Crested Tern colonies in Libya as part of a program run by RACSPA (Regional Activity Centre for Special Protected Areas) and the Libyan environment authority
• Participate in various international fairs and conferences

Education

• Through our Dinja Wahda (One World) education programme BirdLife Malta reaches 80% of primary school children. The programme has been implemented in 70% of primary schools in Malta and Gozo.
• Organise educational classes for schools at Ghadira Nature Reserve and Simar Nature Reserve
• Participates in Spring Alive - an international education campaign aimed at raising awareness of bird migration in secondary schoolchildren
• Have directly reached over 1600 people through our guided walks of the EU Life project site
  

Advocacy and Lobbying

• Working towards the full implementation of the Birds Directive and strengthening the National Legislation
• Campaigning to stop spring hunting, trapping and illegal killing of protected birds
• Working closely with the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit and the Army with regards to their role in preventing illegal hunting and trapping incidents
• Campaigning against development projects (such as Ghaidra TEN-T Road project) that threatens Natura 2000 sites in the Maltese islands
• Working with the authorities on sustainable energy, for example by helping to identify best suitable locations for wind energy projects

Recent Achievements

• Runs biggest environmental education project (Dinja Wahda – One world) in the Maltese islands
• Stopped spring hunting in 2007, a first for Malta
• Through its campaign, stopped hunting at sandy beaches, increased fines for illegal hunting and trapping, stopped hunting at sea and the trapping of finches during spring since 2007
• As Birdlife Malta’s Millenium project, developed Foresta 2000, the largest afforestation project in Malta
• By acting as government consultants and forming part of the national Ornis Committee, significantly improved national hunting and trapping legislation in line with conservation objectives
• Lobbied and succeeded in the designation of all the Important Bird Areas of Malta as Special Protection Areas
• Currently running the biggest conservation project of its kind, the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project, in the Maltese islands
• Prepared the first Farmland Bird Index for the Maltese Islands
• Launched the first Breeding Bird Atlas for the Maltese Islands