The role of environmental Education in Maltese marine protected areas

Abstract

The researcher was interested in exploring the relationship between Environmental Education and Marine Protected Areas in Malta. This study aimed to assess the environmental knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of both relevant stakeholders and the Maltese public towards Malta’s marine environment, Marine Protected Areas and Environmental Education. A mixed-methods approach was adopted as the research methodology, which entailed the collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. This was accomplished through semi-structured interviews with twelve interviewees representing key stakeholders and the administration of a questionnaire to two hundred members of the Maltese public. The qualitative and quantitative data was collected concurrently and subsequently analyzed separately. Verbatim transcripts from the interviews were first analyzed on an individual question basis, and then a thematic second level analysis was performed. As for the quantitative data, an analysis employing both descriptive and inferential statistics was conducted. The study found that there is a lack of marine Environmental Education in Malta, although stakeholders and the Maltese public perceive it as important. Low levels of knowledge surrounding the local marine environment were recorded, but stakeholders and the Maltese public have an overall positive attitude towards Marine Protected Areas. Stakeholders identified cooperation as the preferred means to managing Malta’s Marine Protected Areas and also pointed to the need to address issues of implementation and enforcement. In response to these findings, recommendations are made regarding the further incorporation of marine Environmental Education in Malta, particularly surrounding the local Marine Protected Areas.