Side event details

Due to climate change, weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rapidly rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme creating a ‘domino effect’ of irreversible damage across the economy, food security, and health. This will be forcing coastal communities to tackle multiple crises all at the same time. In the Mediterranean, coastal wetlands are highly sensitive to climate change and are particularly threatened by rising sea levels. As an example, by 2100, the sea level is expected to rise by up to 620 millimeters in the Bojana-Buna delta and by up to 840 millimeters in the Gulf of Oristano in Sardinia.

As climate change and population continue to increase, saving and restoring our wetlands represents an urgent priority. Nevertheless, ensuring the survival of our coastal wetlands on a regional scale is a huge task and one that requires collaboration across all actors in the Mediterranean.

This is why a Wetland-based Solutions project was launched. It gathers a powerful network of expert organizations working to preserve and restore Mediterranean wetlands, which pool their expertise and experiences to improve skills, identify successful solutions, raise awareness, and spread best practices across the basin.

The event will present the project outcomes and reflect on five case studies. Building upon the work on the ground in Oristano (Sardinia, Italy), Ulcinj Salina (Montenegro), Buna River (Albania), Mallorca (Spain), and Ghar el Melh (Tunisia), the event will provide a forum for stories conveying a range of voices about the restoration, conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It will provide an opportunity to share experiences, on-the-ground actions, and replicable models supporting others to take action across the Mediterranean. It will also help to develop solutions to address challenges facing coastal wetlands.

It will further review the state of the art in Mediterranean wetlands conservation and wise use. In addition, it will identify the way forward to protect and restore these ecosystems to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The event will bring the perspectives of different stakeholders representing a variety of wetland ecosystems to illustrate why, how, and who are championing wetlands as Nature-based Solutions.

Finally, the event will explore the different tools and resources developed by the WbS project that can help decision-makers address wetland protection, restoration and management challenges.

19:45-20:00 Welcome remarks

     Maria Magdalena Bernues, Spain and Chair of MedWet

     - Official welcome (4 mn)

     Alessandra Sensi, UfM (5 mn)

     Gonzalo Oviedo, MAVA (5 mn)

     Alessio Satta, MedWet (4 mn)

     - Presentation of the Agenda

20:00 - 20:40 Wetlands restoration and conservation as Nature-Based Solutions

     Jean Jalbert, Tour du Valat (8 mn)

     - the case of Camargue

     Teresa Gil Gil, WWF Spain (8 mn)

     - The case of Mallorca

     Vania Statzu, MEDSEA foundation (8 mn)

     - The Maristanis Project for the integrated management of Sardinian wetlands

     Marianne Courouble, MedWet (8 mn)

     - Communicating and advocating for Mediterranean coastal wetlands

20:40 -20:45 Conclusions & Final remarks

     Alessio Satta, (MedWet) - 5 mn

     - Presents conclusions and way-forward