On 3 June 2015, the Tour du Valat received the Ramsar Convention Award for Merit for wetlands conservation at the 12th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention in Punta del Este (Uruguay).
The Ramsar Convention Award for Merit for wetlands conservation has been awarded since 1999 at the international conference of the contracting parties. It gives individuals, organisations, and governments international recognition for their exceptional contributions to the conservation and wise use of wetlands throughout the world. Three merit prizes were also awarded this year for the first time to reward specific people for their particularly significant achievements.
Wetlands are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world, and also the most productive for human communities that are greatly dependent on them due to the numerous ecosystem services they provide (agriculture, fishing, tourism, water purification, flood control, and many more. Today, however, they are in great danger, due to the increasing pressures from human activities. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean Basin, where wetlands lost approximately 50% of their total area in the 20th century, with major repercussions on the local population in terms of biodiversity loss.
The merit award was given to the Tour du Valat on Wednesday 3 June 2015 by the Ramsar Convention. It was given to the Tour du Valat’s General Director Jean Jalbert to reward of 60 years of research and other activities aimed at studying, managing, and preserving Mediterranean wetlands.
The Tour du Valat was one of the originators of the Ramsar Convention, played a decisive role in the creation of the MedWet initiative in 1991, and has contributed actively to the implementation of Ramsar Convention principles in the Mediterranean Basin.
This award was also given in recognition of the exceptional human adventure led by Luc Hoffman in the Camargue since 1954 when he founded the Tour du Valat, where several generations of scientists from all over the world have come together enthusiastically to study wetlands and their biological diversity.
The Tour du Valat was also very present and active at this 12th Conference of Parties, through its work on draft resolutions, participation in many events within the framework of the “Mediterranean agora”, as well as in communicating the results of the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory.
Photo credits: M. Renaudin / Medwet