ZAGREB, April 2, 2018 – The Hyla association and the WWF Adria environmental protection organisation presented a project called “Conservation of the Island Wetlands of the Mediterranean Basin (MedlsWet)”, which is being implemented in nine Mediterranean countries, including Croatia.
“The results of the MedlsWet project will contribute to the status of Croatia as one of the first countries that will fully implement the resolution on island wetlands,” said the project coordinator in Croatia, Ivana Sučić of Hyla.
Resolution XII.14 “Conservation of Mediterranean Basin Island Wetlands” was adopted in 2015 as part of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar Convention. The resolution calls on the contracting parties to produce or update an inventory of island wetlands and calls for effective and long-term protection and restoration of wetlands where necessary.
Sučić said that five wetland areas in Croatia have been designated Ramsar sites, namely the Kopački Rit, Lonjsko Polje and Vransko Jezero nature parks, the Crna Mlaka fish ponds at Jastrebarsko and the lower reaches of the River Neretva but, “unfortunately, none of the Adriatic islands are included on this list.”
The MedlsWet project was launched in October 2017 to ensure full implementation of the island wetlands resolution and realisation of the general objectives of the Ramsar convention. Hyla and WWF Adria are responsible for its implementation in Croatia.
The value of the project is about a million euro, of which 135,000 euro is intended for Croatia, and the money comes from the MAVA nature conservation foundation. The project is also being implemented in Cyprus, Turkey, Tunisia, Italy, France, Malta, Spain and Greece, which is the chief coordinator of the project.
