A  mechanism to support civil society organisations to advocate for the protection of a threatened wetlands

What is the Red Alert mechanism?

The Red Alert is a powerful tool designed by the Alliance to protect threatened wetlands in the Mediterranean region. This mechanism allows civil society organizations to quickly mobilize international support when wetlands face imminent threats such as large-scale tourism projects, industrial developments, or other activities that jeopardize biodiversity, wetlands functionality and local communities.

Any civil society organization can apply to activate the Red Alert mechanism. Once the Alliance has evaluated the application, a task force of key members or partners is  set up. They go through a process to provide support to develop and implement an advocacy and communication strategy. The Red Alert relies on science-based advocacy and is always looking for alternative solutions for nature and people.

Why was the Red Alert system created?

Mediterranean wetlands are under constant pressure from human activities, especially infrastructure development and climate change. Existing international mechanisms to protect wetlands like Ramsar and MedWet, along with national policies, are essential but often insufficient to support civil society organizations to stop local threats in time. The Red Alert System was created to fill this gap, offering a rapid response tool that can raise awareness, gather support, and advocate for immediate intervention to prevent irreversible damage thanks to international cooperation.

 To learn more about past and current Red Alerts cases

To exemplify it, we can take the case of the Erimitis wetlands. On the Greek island of Corfu, a tourism project opposed by a large part of the civil society was threatening three important wetlands. A local organization requested support from the Alliance, so we collaborated with them to support the strategies they wanted to develop.

On the one hand, the Alliance participated in several meetings to advise on how the strategy could be implemented and in what we could participate. Finally, two letters endorsed by most of the Alliance members were written to the Prime Minister of Greece in October 2020 and in February 2021. They were written to inform about the ecological importance of the wetlands and urging a reconsideration of the project to bring it in line with Greece’s agreed legal commitments, both nationally and internationally.

These letters were as well forwarded to strategic institutions and Conventions that Greece has agreements with (ex European Commission, UNEP, RAMSAR, etc.). These actions  were reported to the news media, giving to the Erimitis case an international scope.   At this moment, the Alliance is monitoring Erimitis, remaining watchful of the development of the situation.