Two years after the adoption of the XII.14 Ramsar Resolution in Uruguay (see our latest article here), 13 partners from 9 Mediterranean countries are joining forces towards a common goal: The conservation of the island wetlands of the Mediterranean Basin.
The kick off meeting of the project MedIsWet. Photo credit: WWF Greece
Based on the experience acquired in the project “Conservation of the island wetlands of Greece” (2004-2013), implemented by WWF Greece and thanks to the support from the MAVA Foundation, the project MedIsWet aspires to establish a network of partnerships and collaborations with governmental authorities, NGOs, research institutions, local communities, Ramsar, and MedWet intended to communicate the great importance of these small, numerous and dispersed oases of biodiversity.
The main objectives of the project are:
- the documentation of the Med island wetlands through national inventories following a common methodology, and the dissemination of knowledge to the public and the authorities,
- the implementation of at least one wetland restoration per country, and
- the promotion of their protection at a national and Mediterranean/European scale.
These activities will be implemented at national scale by the following partners: Association Hyla & WWF Adria (Croatia), Terra Cypria (Cyprus), Nature Trust (Malta), WWF Turkey, WWF Spain and WWF Med/North Africa (respectively for Turkey, Spain & Tunisia), PIM Initiative (France & Italy), Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (CCB)/University of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) and CUTGANA/University of Catania (Sicily, Italy).
At Mediterranean level, Tour du Valat with MedWet will be in charge of the dissemination of knowledge at a Mediterranean scale and the promotion of their protection to a wider audience. The coordination of the MedIsWet project has been undertaken by WWF Greece.
The kick off meeting of the project was organized on November 9th, with the participation of 12 persons from 10 partners. In that meeting, the participants presented their national projects and discussed the different aspects of the MedIsWet project, elaborating upon their own contribution to the common activities of the project.
Two days earlier, on November 7th and 8th, a training workshop was organized on specific technical aspects of implementing the activities of national wetland inventories. During this session, the participants had the chance to go deeper into the methodology developed by WWF Greece as they practiced how to organize and conduct a field visit and, subsequently, how to handle the acquired data.
Training workshop during the kick off meeting of the project MedIsWet. Photo credit: MedWet
In order to facilitate the administrative and organizational aspects of the project, a new website has been developed. The site will serve as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experience among partners, link the different national sub-projects, thus creating a sense of a common project, and finally be a communication portal for presenting the activities and achievements of the network.
The MedIsWet project is now fully dedicated to implementing Ramsar Resolution XII.14 in nine Mediterranean countries. Over the following years the project’s team will apply all its efforts towards the islands’ wetland protection, and will hopefully make the Mediterranean region among the first countries to fully implement a Ramsar Resolution.
Field visit during the kick off meeting of the project MedIsWet. Photo credit: MedWet
More information
To download the presentations in the Agenda click here.
Contact
Thanos Giannakakis
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