Ulcinj salina, Montenegro. © MedWet / C.Amico

The climate crisis, including droughts, is hitting the Mediterranean 20% harder than the rest of the world, but coastal wetlands play a vital role in mitigating future temperature rises. They currently store up to 40% of the world’s carbon and do it at a rate 10-20 times greater than temperate or boreal forests. In the Mediterranean regions, wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems, providing critical services for half a billion people.

Coastal fisheries and sustainable agriculture rely on healthy coastal wetland ecosystems, providing important low-carbon sources of nutrition for our growing population.
Each year, losing coastal wetland costs $ 7200 billion globally. wetlands’ ecosystem services are among the most productive habitats in the world. They can be considered as “biological supermarkets”: wetlands provide great volumes of food for many species, including our own.

With a view to fostering a more effective conservation of these crucial habitats, the UfM supports the “Wetland-Based Solutions project”, promoted by MedWet. Through the protection and restoration of key wetlands, the project proposes coastal wetlands as key assets for nature-based solutions’ implementation to counteract anthropogenic impacts, and in particular, climate change.

For more information

• “Mediterranean wetland restoration: an urgent priority” Restoring Mediterranean wetlands: the urgent and essential Nature-based Solution to the region’s most pressing challenges. Despite the vital roles they play, 48% of Mediterranean wetlands have been lost since 1970.
  • Policy Paper
  • Policy Paper summary

• The project “Wetlands-Based Solutions”