Today, Algeria hosts 2,375 wetlands, including 50 Ramsar Sites of International Importance, composed of 2,056 wetlands of natural origin and 319 of artificial origin according to the Directorate General of Forestry (DGF). Since the ratification of the Ramsar Convention by Algeria in 1984, the DGF has carried out multiple activities, including inventories and management plans, for better management and valorization of these sites.
Most recently, the DGF has developed the National Wetlands Strategy 2015-2030, with the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), involving all stakeholders concerned with wetland-related issues including associations, and this through a National Multi-sectoral Wetlands Committee set up by Ministerial Decree of 20 March 2012 (JO n°47).
This strategy is an instrument for accompanying all sectors for the sustainable management of wetlands, contributing to the fight against desertification, as well as adaptation to climate change, mitigation of its effects, and protection of the country’s water resources.
It also aims to preserve the country’s wetlands and to enhance their resilience to climate change through an ecosystem-based management, enabling them to continue providing ecological goods and services.
The National Strategy was also prepared in response to Algeria’s international commitments under international conventions, such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The different axes of the strategy are also correlated with the targets of the MedWet Framework for Action 2016-2030 in the areas of the inclusion in the Ramsar List, the development and implementation of pilot restoration projects in degraded wetlands, and the integration of good practices for water management and wetland conservation into national land use plans and policies in order to avoid further damage to wetland functions and values.
The strategy, developed in a fully participatory manner, benefits from a joint contribution by several actors in multilateral cooperation, such as the Ramsar Convention, WWF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Algeria.
More information
Full text of the National Wetlands Strategy 2015-2030 (in French language).
Contact
Bendjedda Nadjiba
Wetland Bureau Officer
Directorate General of Forestry in Algeria
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