Distribution of native trees and shrubs to farmers

Description: Distribution of native trees and shrubs to farmers

Country: Malta

City: Various locations

start: 2020

Timeframe: 6 months

Phase: Ongoing

Nature-based solutions (NBS) : No

Initiator: Ambjent Malta

Latitude: 35.8884

Longitude: 14.4488

Co-benefits

Biodiversity conservation or increased biodiversity

Yes, increasing green areas, enhance the potential for biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning (Threlfall et al; 2017).

Original problems

Drought and heat risk

Yes, the Mediterranean Basin is undergoing a warming trend with longer and warmer summers, an increase in the frequency and the severity of heat waves, changes in precipitation patterns and a reduction in rainfall amounts (Linares et al; 2020).

Loss of biodiversity

Yes, this project's actions are aimed to reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural areas. According to The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BES) index, formulated by the Swiss Re Institute (2020) Malta has ranked highest in the world for the fragility of its biodiversity and ecosystems.

Lack of local sense of ownership, participation

Yes

Limited knowledge about biodiversity

The Malta National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) reports that the results of the Eurobarometer Surveys on Attitudes of Europeans towards Biodiversity in 2007 and 2010 indicate that 14.4% and 18% respectively of Maltese respondents had heard of the term “biodiversity” and knew what it meant. A survey commissioned by MEPA in 2011 indicates that out of the 500 persons interviewed, 24.6% of Maltese respondents heard of the term “biodiversity” and knew what it meant. In general there is a need to continue enhancing biodiversity awareness and gain more knowledge on the meaning of ‘biodiversity’. (ERA, 2018d).

Reference: Cramer, W., Guiot, J., Fader, M., Garrabou, J., Gattuso, J.-P., Iglesias, A., Lange, M.A., Lionello , P., Llasat , M.C., Paz, S., Peñuelas, J., Snoussi, M., Toreti , A., Tsimplis, M.N., Xoplaki, E. 2018. Climate change and interconnected risks to sustainable development in the Mediterranean. Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0299-2.

ERA. 2018b. State of the Environment Report 2018: Chapter 2: Ambient Air. Reporting status from 2009 to 2015. Information obtained: 2019-11-08. Available at: https://era.org.mt/en/Documents/3_Chapter2_AmbientAir_9Aug18.pdf.

Linares, C., Díaz, J., Negev, M., Martínez, G.S., Debono, R. and Paz, S. 2020. Impacts of climate change on the public health of the Mediterranean Basin population - current situation, projections, preparedness and adaptation. Environmental Research, 182:109107 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.109107.

Swiss Re institute (2020) Available at: https://www.swissre.com/media/news-releases/nr-20200923-biodiversity-and-ecosystems-services.html

Threlfall, C., Mata, L., Mackie, J., Hahs, A., Stork, N., Williams, N. and Livesley, S. 2017. Increasing biodiversity in urban green spaces through simple vegetation interventions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 54:6, pp.1874-1883.