Working together for coastal wetlands
In October, the Alliance met with MedWet and PAPRAC – two of their closest partners – to reflect on the progress of their two-year joint action plan that was funded by the MAVA Foundation. The project was focused on making coastal wetlands more sustainable through different activities, like conducting research, raising awareness, and restoring habitats with the help of local communities and policy advocacy. The project was a success due to the great team effort and the passion everyone had for the environment.
Over the course of the program, collaborators exchanged knowledge and experience regularly. They developed innovative tools to diagnose and monitor the state of wetlands (Wetland Index, Ecosystem services assessment, analysis of the vulnerability to sea level rise). They applied these in four pilot sites: River in Albania, Ghar el Melh in Tunisia, Oristano in Sardinia, and Ulcinj Salinas in Montenegro.
Wetland restoration was also implemented in nine Mediterranean islands ( MedisWet) and 3 additional sites (Gediz Delta, Tagus estuary and Bahia de Cadiz.
The six objectives that helped the partners to focus on sustainability
The program impacts have lasting effects
The impacts of the program are visible at a regional and local level. Local activities have direct ecological and social impacts, creating better physical function of wetlands and better conditions for people. Regionally, we contributed to improved policy for wetlands, meaning their protection and restoration is embedded into future priorities. Key impacts of the program include:
To find out more about this program or our alliance, please contact us contact@medallianceforwetlands.org