The Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory (Tour du Valat) and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier have published a results summary for 2017, the first year of monitoring the recreational and educational services provided by Mediterranean wetlands. The summary also includes messages and recommendations for decision-makers and site managers.
The aim of the indicator of Mediterranean wetland recreational and educational services (MW-RES) is to measure, in a way that sites can be compared, the human and social benefits provided by wetlands for people who visit these ecosystems for recreational or educational reasons.
This monitoring contributes to a category of indicators regarding wetland services for human well-being. Developed and tested between 2011 and 2016 by the Tour du Valat and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier (IAMM), it is the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory’s first specific indicator of wetland ecosystem services. It can be monitored in wetlands that have a visitor centre or management team (there are about 150 such wetlands in MedWet countries).
The indicator is aimed directly at national and local decision-makers as well as site managers, identified as the main stakeholders concerning site management decisions. A new feature in the framework of wetland monitoring is that it informs them of the social and human benefits of wetland habitats for the general public.
In 2017, the first quantitative monitoring of the indicator covered 10 countries (37% of MedWet countries) with 27 sites selected, 9 of which were in EU countries, 8 in the Maghreb, 6 in the Balkans outside the EU, and 4 in the Middle East (18% of wetlands with a visitor centre, park headquarters, or managers permanently present on site). In all, 3,717 visitors were interviewed (138 per site on average) as well as 27 site managers (1 per site).
The summary report for decision-makers and wetland managers can be downloaded here [1] (in French).