TOUR DU VALAT

A research centre for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands




Press release: "The deterioration of wetlands is not a fatality!"

Published the 08/10/2008

For the Ramsar Conference, which begins on 27th October in South Korea, the Tour du Valat publishes a study on the evolution of Mediterranean wetlands biodiversity since 1970. This study confirms the threats which weigh on the biodiversity of these habitats but also shows that management and protection measures, in particular on water birds, can prove effective.

Every third year, the Ramsar Conference brings together the governmental representatives of the contracting parts. Together, they examine the key issues concerning conservation and rational use of wetlands and determine concrete actions to be carried out. The non governmental university community and also takes part in this reflection process.

It’s in this frame that the Tour du Valat will present a study on the evolution of biodiversity in Mediterranean wetlands from 1970 until today. This important study should contribute to improve the knowledge about the state and trends of these habitats and allow the implementation of appropriate public policies.

WETLANDS, AN ECOSYSTEM IN DANGER

Lakes, ponds, lagoons, gravel pits, estuaries, peat bogs, alluvial valleys, pools, marshes… For thousands of years, wetlands have provided vital resources - water, food, plants, animals, raw materials and communication routes - which are fundamental for human social, economic and cultural activities. However their area has decreased steadily. It is estimated that during the century spent, approximately half of the Mediterranean wetlands were destroyed. This study - and thanks to the tool “Living Planet Index”, developed by the WWF - comes to confirm this general tendency of degradation, particularly in the east of the Mediterranean basin and the Black Sea where numerous vertebrate populations are in decline. For example a fall in the index ranging from 40 to 70% can be seen for herons, ibises, storks, swans, geese and ducks. These wetlands are put in danger mainly by the recent economic development of this area’s countries, combined with a strong demographic growth which involves a drastic pressure on the water resources.

PROTECTION MEASURES WHICH BEAR THEIR FRUIT

However, and it is encouraging, the measures set up 30 years ago in the west of the Mediterranean basin for the protection and management of certain threatened species are now bearing fruit. Let us quote for example the index - calculated only for the vulnerable classified species or in process of extinction - which shows that their tendency to decline has been reversed since 1980. The identification and the protection of these wetlands of major importance were possible thanks to the International Ramsar Convention (1971) which promotes the conservation and the durable use of these habitats in order to stop their loss and the MedWet Initiative (1991) which applies the principles of Ramsar on a Mediterranean scale. Other measures also played a major part. Let us quote among them the International Convention of Bern (1979) and the Birds Directives (1979) and Habitats Directives (1992) of the European Union.

TOWARDS AN OBSERVATORY OF MEDITERRANEAN WETLANDS

This study presents an important initial contribution to this “Observatory”, which is currently taking form. The report is that, today, information on these habitats is fragmentary and heterogeneous. The risk: whole areas of wetland biodiversity are not being monitored and may disappear in a context of total indifference. Therefore the objective is to create an Observatory which can provide the decision makers with regularly updated summary information based on the best scientific knowledge. Thus mobilised, decision-makers will be able to adapt strategies and take appropriate action. Right now, this observatory is taking shape under the impetus of the Tour du Valat. Many scientific and technical organisations are working together on this system or have undertaken to do so.

The example of the Camargue: a wetland of international importance

In this study, the Living Planet Index applied to the Camargue shows a globally positive trend from 1970 to 2007 with an increase in the index of 65%. Fresh water species, mainly related to the marshes, rice plantations and canals irrigation, are experiencing the strongest expansion, close to 100% over 37-year period. The origin of their dynamism can partially be found in the increase of surface area of the protected wetlands in the Camargue and in their protective management. On the contrary after continuing at a high level since the middle of the 1970s, the index for the Camargue brackish habitat (lagoonal and saline meres) is currently decreasing. Mainly in question: the stabilization of the ecological conditions in the Salinas and the proliferation of the Yellow Legged Gull. The index is currently largely calculated on populations of water birds, skewing the perception of the changes in the biodiversity of the Camargue. The recent setting up of new monitoring programs - on amphibians, bats and lands birds - will will enable to go even further in the analysis and interpretation of trends.

Press contact

Jenyfer PERIDONT Communication officer

Telephone : +33 (0)4 90 97 28 70 – email : document.write(' '); peridontSPAMFILTER@tourduvalat.org

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