- Lead organisation: Tour du Valat (Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory).
- Other Partners: SPANA NGO, University of Casablanca, Med-INA.
- Brief description: The study aims at assessing the status and trends of leisure and educational roles of wetlands. Starting with Sidi Boughaba area, Morocco, this project will prepare the ground for a larger project among different wetlands related visitor centres in the Mediterranean region.
- Time schedule: 2012-2013.
- Current status: Med-INA worked closely with the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory (MWO) for the development of a culture indicator that will help evaluate the importance of wetlands for their visitors. Med-INA has been assisting the MWO to put together data on the number of visitors of wetland visitors centres in certain Mediterranean sites, rich in cultural values. The need for more in depth information and a sound methodology arose in the process. This methodology has been developed and is being tested in a number of sites.
The methodology was already tested in Morocco in early 2012. 3 new sites have been launched in France, Spain, Tunisia and 6 sites in Algeria. Preparation for new studies in 2 sites in Slovenia (Cave and Salinas), in Croatia (Lonsko Polje and Vronsko Jezero on the Dalmatian Coast), in Prespa (Greece/Albania) and in Bosnia & Herzegovina (Livanskopolje). Serbia, Albania, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel are potential future places for research.