Union for the Mediterranean declaration: wetlands should be the solution to the region’s water challenges
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Advocacy
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Global Europe
On 28th September, ministers from across the Mediterranean met during the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) meeting and adopted a new declaration on water. We welcome its call to anticipate droughts and floods, and to consider water, food, energy and ecosystems together. However, the declaration lacks to recognise wetlands and other water-related ecosystems as part of the solution to the region’s water challenges.
Healthy wetlands retain water in the landscape, reduce flood damage and help keep water available during dry periods. Protecting and restoring them, alongside investment in conventional water infrastructure, is essential to water resilience and security in the Mediterranean.
Along with environmental and conservation organisations working across the Mediterranean region, we reacted to this declaration, calling the ministers for:
- Water investments to protect and restore the water cycle from source to sea, including by retaining more water in the landscape.
- Wetland restoration to be included in water, land-use and disaster risk plans.
- The UfM to work more closely with the Convention on Wetlands, and member states to join the Freshwater challenge.
- Establishing country-led Wetland Partnerships to bring governments, communities, civil society and funders together around shared priorities.
- Wetland protection, restoration and landscape water retention to be included in the Rome Initiative on Water, the regional action framework and water finance decisions.