Sunday, 2 February 2014 was a special day at the Tour du Valat. We opened our research centre to the public for our annual World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebration.
This day commemorates the signature on 2 February 1971 of the Ramsar Convention, named after the Iranian city in which it was signed. This treaty has been signed by 167 countries, and is still today the principal international instrument for the protection of wetlands and their biological, economic and cultural values. It is particularly meaningful for the Tour du Valat, because the wetlands in the Mediterranean basin are among the most threatened in the world.
This open doors day attracted more than 400 visitors, including 50 children, who were eager to discover the Tour du Valat Estate. This is a rare event, which remains popular in the Camargue and beyond – some visitors travelled several hundred kilometres for this special occasion.
Neither the wind nor the heavy rain that fell in the days just before the event, and had flooded part of the Estate, could stop ornithology specialists or fans from going to the Saint-Seren hide to observe the numerous birds wintering on the Estate and taking advantage of the other visits and activities proposed.
The theme for WWD 2014 was “Wetlands and Agriculture,” which is quite appropriate, as these ecosystems are some of the most productive on the earth, providing food for hundreds of thousands of people. Likewise, this event gave visitors the opportunity to taste goods produced in the Camargue wetlands and prepared by the Conservatory of Mediterranean Cuisine. A talk of great interest was also given on this subject to a good-sized audience.
Finally, this annual open doors day was particularly memorable this year because the Tour du Valat is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2014. Likewise, some of the original staff members were present, who have participated in the research and daily life of the centre and its teams since 1954. They shared their enthusiasm and countless anecdotes with the enchanted visitors.