A more effective Ramsar Convention for the conservation of Mediterranean 
wetlands (article)

Abstract
The Ramsar Convention is the multilateral agreement aimed at protecting wetlands globally. Wetlands are particularly recognized for their role in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot by providing key habitats for endemic and migratory species, directly contributing benefits to the lives of people and being an integral part of their culture. In response to this importance, the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory publishes Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks (MWOs) on the state and trends of Mediterranean wetlands; the first edition in 2012 (MWO1) and the second edition in 2018 (MWO2). In this paper, we used the results of the two Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks to highlight ways to increase the impact of the Ramsar Convention by identifying the spatial dimensions of detected biodiversity trends as well as the societal developments and estimated impacts of global change and protection status.

Figure 1. Overview of the identified overall trend (long term starting from roughly 1970 depending on the data source until 2018) and the trend since the publication of the MWO1 (2012) for the 16 indicators of the MWO2 (2018). The color coding indicates if a trend is getting worse (red), is variable or stable (yellow), or is improving (green).

Geijzendorffer IR, Beltrame C, Chazee L, Gaget E, Galewski T, Guelmami A, Perennou C, Popoff N, Guerra C, Leberger R, Jalbert J. (2019) A more effective Ramsar Convention for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.7:21. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00021

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