MedWet is seeking a consultant for the MedWet Network of Mediterranean Ramsar Sites Managers (MeRSiM-Net)

About MedWet

Logo MedWetEstablished in 1991, the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWet) brings together 26 Mediterranean and peri-Mediterranean countries that are Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). They constitute the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedWet/Com). The Palestinian Authority and a series of intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations and wetland centres are also members of the MedWet/Com.

The MedWet mission is to ensure the effective conservation of the functions and values of wetlands and the sustainable use of their resources and services. To achieve this mission, MedWet promotes and supports local, national and regional actions and collaboration in the Mediterranean region, within the framework of the Ramsar Convention.

MedWet activities are coordinated by a Secretariat hosted since 2014 by the Wetland Research Centre of La Tour du Valat in the Camargue, France. The Secretariat is funded by contributions of the 26 MedWet/Com countries and, during the triennium 2014-2017, by grants from the MAVA Foundation and the French Water Agency Rhône Méditerranée Corse.

MedWet works with a large number of partners in the region and participates in the promotion and execution of specific projects to further its mission.

The issue

One of the tools of the Ramsar Convention to achieve its goals is the List of Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar List). The 168 Contracting Parties to the Convention have, so far, included 2,186 wetland sites in the Ramsar List, and in the Mediterranean region, the 26 MedWet countries have designated 396 Ramsar Sites.

Many of these 396 Mediterranean Ramsar Sites have been provided with some type of management system and with personnel assigned to this task. The MedWet Secretariat has decided to invest resources and energy in the identification of all the persons and/or institutions, of all sorts, that are involved in some type of management of our Ramsar Sites and to establish a network to connect all of those who are willing to participate.


Objectives of the
MedWet Network of Mediterranean Ramsar Sites Managers (MeRSiM-Net)

Initially, the MeRSiM-Net will have the following objectives:

  1. to promote the feeling and experience of belonging to the Mediterranean Ramsar Sites ‘ethos’[1];
  2. to facilitate exchanges of knowledge and experiences concerning the situation of and management practices in Mediterranean Ramsar Sites;
  3. to facilitate mutual support in terms of technical advice and assistance in problem solving; and
  4. to encourage the twinning of Mediterranean Ramsar Sites.

Once the network is firmly established, the participants may identify other needs and expectations and propose new activities and initiatives.

To facilitate the work of the network, the MedWet Secretariat will establish a dedicated platform on its website, and guidelines will be prepared on the procedures for using it in an effective manner. The Secretariat will also pay attention to the need and possibilities for promoting field visits and encounters among the network members with specific objectives.

[1] Ethos: the character or disposition of a community, group, person, etc.

More information

Download the Term of Reference for this consultancy here