TY - JOUR
T1 - The future for Mediterranean wetlands
T2 - 50 key issues and 50 important conservation research questions
AU - Taylor, Nigel G.
AU - Grillas, Patrick
AU - Al Hreisha, Hazem
AU - Balkız, Özge
AU - Borie, Maud
AU - Boutron, Olivier
AU - Catita, Ana
AU - Champagnon, Jocelyn
AU - Cherif, Semia
AU - Çiçek, Kerim
AU - Costa, Luís T.
AU - Dakki, Mohamed
AU - Fois, Mauro
AU - Galewski, Thomas
AU - Galli, Alessandro
AU - Georgiadis, Nicholas M.
AU - Green, Andy J.
AU - Hermoso, Virgilio
AU - Kapedani, Rezart
AU - Lange, Manfred A.
AU - Mateljak, Zoran
AU - Osta, Maher
AU - Papastergiadou, Eva
AU - Papazoglou, Clairie
AU - Sabater, Sergi
AU - Samraoui, Boudjéma
AU - Samraoui, Farrah
AU - Bachir, Abdelkrim Si
AU - Tankovic, Eva
AU - Thévenet, Mathieu
AU - Troya, Antonio
AU - Sutherland, William J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Wetlands are critically important for biodiversity and human wellbeing, but face a range of challenges. This is especially true in the Mediterranean region, where wetlands support endemic and threatened species and remain integral to human societies, but have been severely degraded in recent decades. Here, in order to raise awareness of future challenges and opportunities for Mediterranean wetlands, and to inform proactive research and management, we identified (a) 50 key issues that might affect Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050, and (b) 50 important research questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050. We gathered ideas through an online survey and review of recent literature. A diverse assessment panel prioritised ideas through an iterative, anonymised, Delphi-like process of scoring, voting and discussion. The prioritised issues included some that are already well known but likely to have a large impact on Mediterranean wetlands in the next 30 years (e.g. the accumulation of dams and reservoirs, plastic pollution and weak governance), and some that are currently overlooked in the context of Mediterranean wetlands (e.g. increasing desalination capacity and development of antimicrobial resistance). Questions largely focused on how best to carry out conservation interventions, or understanding the impacts of threats to inform conservation decision-making. This analysis will support research, policy and practice related to environmental conservation and sustainable development in the Mediterranean, and provides a model for similar analyses elsewhere in the world.
AB - Wetlands are critically important for biodiversity and human wellbeing, but face a range of challenges. This is especially true in the Mediterranean region, where wetlands support endemic and threatened species and remain integral to human societies, but have been severely degraded in recent decades. Here, in order to raise awareness of future challenges and opportunities for Mediterranean wetlands, and to inform proactive research and management, we identified (a) 50 key issues that might affect Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050, and (b) 50 important research questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050. We gathered ideas through an online survey and review of recent literature. A diverse assessment panel prioritised ideas through an iterative, anonymised, Delphi-like process of scoring, voting and discussion. The prioritised issues included some that are already well known but likely to have a large impact on Mediterranean wetlands in the next 30 years (e.g. the accumulation of dams and reservoirs, plastic pollution and weak governance), and some that are currently overlooked in the context of Mediterranean wetlands (e.g. increasing desalination capacity and development of antimicrobial resistance). Questions largely focused on how best to carry out conservation interventions, or understanding the impacts of threats to inform conservation decision-making. This analysis will support research, policy and practice related to environmental conservation and sustainable development in the Mediterranean, and provides a model for similar analyses elsewhere in the world.
KW - Aquatic ecosystems
KW - Europe
KW - Foresight
KW - Horizon scan
KW - Middle East and North Africa
KW - Ramsar
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103350725&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10113-020-01743-1
DO - 10.1007/s10113-020-01743-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103350725
SN - 1436-3798
VL - 21
JO - Regional environmental change
JF - Regional environmental change
IS - 2
M1 - 33
ER -