Latest progress of the MedIsWet project

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 of the MAVA Foundation, the Mediterranean Island Wetlands project (MedIsWet) aspires to establish a network of NGOs, institutes, universities and public authorities.

The project includes actions for the completion of the inventories of all the Mediterranean island wetlands, dissemination of knowledge and promotion of certain conservation measures in local, national and Mediterranean scale.

MedIsWet at international events

MedIsWet will be present at the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention (COP13) to be held on 20 – 29 October 2018 in Dubai (UAE) through the side event ‘’Enhancing the conservation of Mediterranean Coastal Wetlands’’ organised by the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition in collaboration with the MAVA Foundation, WWF Greece and MedWet.

The side event will introduce the overall strategy of MAVA and MedWet to enhance the conservation of Mediterranean coastal wetlands and the results of the first year of activities on the ground. It will focus in particular the MedIsWet project and its progress in the implementation of Ramsar Resolution XII.14 on the Conservation of Mediterranean Island Wetlands, adopted in 2015, and on the MARISTANIS project (Oristano, Sardinia), one of the four pilot sites selected for the MAVA coastal wetlands strategy implementation.

MedIsWet will also participate with a side event at the 2nd Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week that will be held in Malta on 12-16 November 2018 under the theme Conservation of Mediterranean Plant Diversity: Complementary Approaches and New Perspectives. During the conference, a round table will highlight the main goal of MeIsWet and discuss the restoration opportunities while promoting a new funding scheme.

Progress with the island wetlands inventories

More than 100 wetlands on 17 Mediterranean Islands have been visited by the project partners: Association Hyla in Croatia, WWF Turkey, the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CCB)/University of Cagliari in Sardinia (Italy), and CUTGANA/University of Catania (Sicily, Italy).

Wetland inventories in Sicily, Italy. Photos credit: Pietro Minissale/CUTGANA

Wetland inventories in Pag island, Croatia. Photos credit: Boris Laus/ Association Hyla

MedIsWet welcomes a new member of the team

MedIsWet is proud to announce that the incorporation to the team of Boris Laus, the new Project coordinator for the Association Hyla in Croatia. Boris is an experienced herpetologist who has already visited and inventoried many island wetlands in his country. The MedIsWet team wants to thank the outgoing member Ivana Sučić for all her efforts and enthusiasm for the success of the project and wish to her good luck in her next professional steps.