Simar Nature Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in Pwales Valley, in

Xemxija Xemxija (, pronounced ''shem-shee-ya'') is a suburb in the western part of St. Paul's Bay in the Northern Region, Malta. It is a quiet resort, surrounded by the countryside and some of the most fertile valleys in Malta. There is also a picturesq ...

St Paul's Bay Saint Paul's Bay () is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Region. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. As per the 2021 population census, it has also ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. An artificial

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

habitat was created on 5 hectares in the 1990s by

BirdLife Malta BirdLife Malta is Malta's biggest environmental movement. The organization's stated aim is to "achieve protection of wild birds, natural habitat and biodiversity". BirdLife Malta is also Malta's first environment NGO. It was founded in Januar ...

volunteers in an area of abandoned marshland. The reserve lies within the Is-Simar

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

, which has been a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since January 1996, a protected

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...

since 2006 and a

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

since March 2008.

References

Simar A simar, as defined in the Webster's Dictionary#1913 edition, 1913 ''Webster's Dictionary'', is "a woman's long dress or robe; also light covering; a scarf." The word is derived from French language, French simarre, and is also written as cimar, ...

Ramsar sites in Malta St. Paul's Bay {{Malta-geo-stub

See also

References