The Environmental Projects Directorate within Ambjent Malta is responsible for the design and implementation of the projects undertaken by the organisation. Project implementation is either outsourced through public procurement or is conducted through the collaboration agreements with NGOs or through direct implementation by the public officers employed by Ambjent Malta.
The main activities within this Directorate are the maintenance of Natura 2000 sites, habitat restoration initiatives and marine protection activities. Habitat restoration projects carried out in areas that are protected and/or of high conservation value are based on the notion of restoration ecology. Indigenous vegetation is planted according to the site-specific characteristics of the area, including phytosociology, i.e existing community of plants that grow in set conditions specific to the particular site. The scope of such projects is to encourage natural regeneration in the restored sites and potential regeneration in adjacent areas and biotopes.
Management of Natura 2000 Sites
Ambjent Malta is responsible for implementing measures within Natura 2000 sites (N2K) as governed by the respective Management plans. Ambjent Malta has direct responsibility for the Salina National Park and the Buskett Woodland. In addition to these areas, there are several other sites which are managed independently through NGOs or third parties, which include Xrobb il-Għaġin, Għajn Tuffieħa, Ramla l-Ħamra, Għadira, Simar, Majjistral Park and Salini Salt Pans.
Marine Protected Areas
The implementation of conservation objectives and measures for Malta’s marine Natura 2000 sites was added to AM’s portfolio in January 2021. AM coordinates with local NGOs and public entities involved in marine areas to implement a number of management measures in marine protected areas. Planned activities include annual underwater and coastal marine clean-ups, installation of informative signs and pilot projects aimed at restoring endangered and degraded benthic habitats.
Recent Environmental Projects
Ambjent Malta launched a scheme for the Local Councils to come forward with environmental project proposals aimed at improving urban greening and which contribute to the positive wellbeing of the local citizens. Ambjent Malta considered the best green initiatives and funded the following localities:
Re-establishment of a heritage/nature trail along the Victoria Lines, providing for information panels, continuous cleaning and pruning, restored footpaths and general embellishment along the trail.
Collection and removal of illegally dumped material from protected coastal areas and foreshores. This is carried out through in-house initiatives and in collaboration with third parties and private contractors.
In 2023, the following clean-ups were conducted:
Demolition of the Agrarian Room and the building of the new Visitors’ Centre, which aims at providing information on the Buskett natural habitat and other environmental information. Works included the construction of a frankastone multi-functional hall, office, kitchenette and sanitary facilities, installation of CCTV cameras, WIFI and AC units.
Ambjent Malta has been carrying out works in Comino since 2018. The main intervention includes the restoration of degraded areas and abandoned agricultural fields through the planting of indigenous shrubs and trees. The planting was carried out following the specific sites’ existing characteristics and phytosociology. All planting was accompanied with the installation of an irrigation system.
Ambjent Malta has also conducted the restoration of the nature trail, the reinstatement of Santa Maria wetland, the removal of unused poles, restoration of rubble walls, and the removal of Invasive Alien Species.
The project aimed at generating data sets based on satellite images, which will be applied to the control and monitoring of the Posidonia Meadows (PO), control of the quality of the waters near the coasts as well as the estimation of the carbon stocks trapped in the PO meadows.
Throughout this project, Ambjent Malta collaborated with the Department of Geosciences – University of Malta (UoM), The Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) and PIXAM Ltd.
Ambjent Malta has conducted interventions along all the trail (the Victoria Lines Trail were segmented into 10 trails – 16km), which interventions included the clearance and cleaning of the path from waste and overgrown vegetation.
MITA financed UM – Ambjent Malta concept project where an application for the autonomous identification through AI of target IAS plants from remotely-sensed imagery, is being developed to facilitate the identification of pathway of invasion, distribution and monitoring of interventions of IAS removal by AM.
The centre was developed by Nature Trust Malta, in collaboration with Ambjent Malta, with a €2.5 million investment co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The Park features rehabilitation facilities for diverse wildlife, including marine, terrestrial and avian fauna, offering a sanctuary for their recovery before reintroduction to their habitats. The centre will provide improved facilities for Nature Trust’s Wildlife Rescue Team, which receives financial assistance from the Environment and Resources Authority and other contributors, to rescue and care for injured wildlife.
The project also includes a Marine Research Centre and an educational area for children and visitors, where they will be able to learn about Maltese wildlife and their conservation.
