The Ichkeul Lake in Tunisia provides the most accomplished example to date in the Mediterranean of an effective monitoring system for a major wetland. This program is implemented efficiently by the Agence Nationale pour la Protection de l’Environnement (ANPE)
In the 1980s-90s, due to dam construction in its watershed and repeated drought periods, Ichkeul lost most of its former importance as a key wintering ground for waterbirds. Tunisian authorities took some corrective management measures.
From 2002-2003, a global monitoring system (including the existing regular or occasional monitoring) was proposed by Tour du Valat and implemented efficiently by the ANPE [1].
Annual monitoring reports covering water levels and salinity, reedbeds, submerged macrophytes, wintering and breeding waterbirds, etc. have been produced since 2003.
This monitoring programme clearly demonstrates that the restoration of the ecosystem is well under way, with many biological components back to its pre-1980s level.