Maltese are among the most concerned Europeans when it comes to loss of biodiversity but 67 per cent felt they were not informed enough about the subject, according to the results of a Eurobarometer study published yesterday.
But only 14 per cent of Maltese had heard of and readily knew what biodiversity loss meant, compared with the EU27 average of 35 per cent.
While most Europeans were concerned about the ill effects of deforestation, overfishing, the spread of agricultural activities, air and water pollution and man-made disasters, most Maltese respondents blamed potential biodiversity loss on changes in land use and the development of roads, housing and industry as major causes of biodiversity loss.
51.8 per cent of Maltese believed the loss of biodiversity in Malta was a “very serious problem”, compared with the EU27 average of 43.2 per cent. 74.5 per cent of Maltese believed biodiversity loss was a very serious global problem, higher than the EU average of 69.4 per cent.
25.8 per cent of Maltese said they were already affected by biodiversity loss – in terms of the decline and possible extinction of animal species, flora and fauna – while 33.8 per cent believed it would affect them later in life. 22.8 per cent thought the problem would affect their children and a further 13.1 per cent felt biodiversity loss would not affect them personally.
35.6 per cent of Maltese said they personally make an effort to protect biodiversity, 45.8 per cent said they make an effort and would like to do more, while a further 10.9 per cent said they do not make a personal effort as they simply did not know what to do.
82.5 per cent of Maltese interviewed did not know what the EU’s Natura 2000 network – the centrepiece of the EU’s biodiversity and habitat protection programme – was, while only 5.3 per cent said they had heard of it and knew what it was.
Maltese, at 85 per cent, were in the most agreement with the statement that it was important to halt biodiversity loss simply because it was our moral obligation as stewards of nature.
Maltese also felt the strongest about the importance of slowing the current speed of biodiversity loss because their levels of well being and quality of life would deteriorate as a consequence.
More than 60 per cent of Maltese, along with comparable figures for Greeks and Cypriots, also agreed Europe would face economic consequences if biodiversity loss was not halted – compared with just 32 per cent of French and Danes questioned and just 28 per cent of Dutch and Finns.
The report’s authors also pointed out how concern about climate change and global warming differs greatly between the south and the north of Europe. Although half of EU citizens are “very concerned” about the effects of climate change and global warming, with a further 37 per cent saying they are concerned to some degree, people in colder climates are definitely less worried about global warming than those in warmer climes.
For example, a previous Eurobarometer showed only 20 per cent of Estonians were very concerned, 24 per cent in Latvia and Finland, 28 per cent in the Netherlands and 30 per cent in Sweden. The level of concern about climate change increases significantly the further south the survey went, with 70 per cent of Spaniards and Cypriots and 68 per cent of Maltese and Greeks being worried about climate change and global warming.