Manifesto for the Great Wetlands of the Mediterranean Region

Manifesto for the great wetlands of the Mediterranean region

The 111 lakes and wetlands, represented by 140 organizations, which make up the international Living Lakes Network, express their deep concern about the serious state of deterioration and destruction of some of the most important Mediterranean wetlands in southern Europe. The international network has met from 6th to 9th May 2019 in the City of Valencia, Spain, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. The most singular and relevant humid areas of Spain represent habitats of transcendence for the global biodiversity conservation, either as breeding or wintering areas for many species or as an obligatory area of passage in the migratory routes of birds between Europe and Africa. In a country with such limited and irregular water resources, wetlands also offer recharge and discharge areas for aquifers, flooding of avenues, improvement of the local microclimate, pasture areas in summer and leisure spaces among other services.

We are aware of the effort made by the administrations and NGOs in the last decades in the restoration of water cycles in certain wetlands, as well as in the treatment and purification waters they receive. In the last 25 years (1992-2017), 685 restoration projects have been verified, which may mean the recovery of just over 13% of the surface area of this type of ecosystem. However, we consider inadmissible the conditions of lack of water or pollution, mainly by irrigations and agricultural effluents, which suffer the largest Iberian wetlands, such as the Albufera de Valencia, the Mar Menor, the Delta del Ebro or National Parks like Las Tablas de Daimiel and Doñana. Is it understood that, in the 21st century, the relatively easy restoration of the great interior lakes maintained by the Iberian Peninsula and dried up in the mid-20th century, such as the Antela Lagoon, the Mar de Campos and the Laguna de La Janda. • Antela Lagoon (province of Orense), dried since 1958, was one of the largest wetlands of the Iberian Peninsula, with 7 km long and 6 km wide, depending on the time of year. • The Mar de Campos (Palencia) stretched over 2,500 ha depending on the rainfall. It was drained in 1968. Since 1990, only 300 ha have been recovered in Fuentes de Nava, as well as the areas of La Güera (30ha) and El Hoyo (30ha). • The La Janda Lagoon (Cádiz) reached some 4,000 hectares until it dried up in the 1960s. It was the most important inland wetland in southern Europe. Its strategic location, a short distance from Africa and next to the Alcornocales Natural Park, was an obligatory resting place for migratory birds before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. Therefore, we consider that the effective implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in Spain and the Basin Plans is urgent. The European Commission has made public its evaluation of the hydrological demarcation plans for the period 2016-2021. The results of the evaluation indicate that the state of European rivers, wetlands and aquifers has not been significantly improved compared to the

previous period 2009-2015. The European Commission has established 25 recommendations for Spain, of which the following are considered priorities: • Ensure that the third hydrological basin plans are approved on time, respecting the requirements of the required public participation process. • Make extensive use of flow meters to ensure that all captures are measured and recorded, and that permits are adapted to the resources actually available.

• Ensure that the third hydrological plans correctly apply Article 9 regarding the recovery of costs of water services, which includes the calculation and internalization of all environmental costs and resource costs. • Ensure that the water needs, in terms of quantity and quality, of the protected habitats and species in Spain are specified, and that these are translated into specific objectives for each protected area, identifying also the monitoring mechanisms and the pertinent measures. In the area of the new programming of the Common Agrarian Policy, enable a specific measure, within the Spanish National Framework Program, aimed at agricultural spaces close to the lagoons or included within the basins of these wetlands, and that allow for compatible agricultural production with the reduction of the consumption of water and of the effluents with high loads of fertilizers or phytosanitary products.

The restoration of the three large Iberian wetlands dried up in the 20th century: Antela, Mar de Campos and La Janda. Some of the technical reinforcement projects are drafted and are not executed only for lack of political will, given that there are sufficient private and public funds, whether national or European, to achieve them.

In the context of the 15th International Living Lakes Conference, the network members have had the opportunity to learn in detail about the situation of the Albufera Lagoon, as a wetland represented in the Living Lakes Network and host of this conference. The members of Living Lakes express their great concern about the degradation of this ecosystem and request the competent authorities to implement effective measures to recover and protect this wetland of international importance:

• The relevant reduction of diffuse agricultural contamination of nutrients and phytosanitary products. • The environmental recovery of ditches. • The transformation of surfaces of perimeter Tancats (rice crops inside a closed field) of the lake in humid zones. • Agreement with the irrigators to allocate the natural flows to l'Albufera and take advantage of the reclaimed wastewater for irrigation. • Revegetation and reforestation in the basins of the ravines that converge in the Albufera. • Sustainable drainage to guide the runoff to the Albufera. • Contributions of water of the river Júcar so that the Albufera can reduce pollution levels and thus have an adequate health situation.

Faced with the enormous challenges caused by climate change and the loss of biodiversity, we call on policy makers to ensure compliance with current legislation and agree on a global political pact aimed at the construction of a new water management model. A model based on a new culture that understands the need to conserve Iberian wetlands, not only for its services to society, but also for representing a unique heritage and, especially, for our own dignity as citizens.

Coordinator of international Living Lakes Network:

Humedales de la Mancha & Tierra de Campos, Spain:

Lake Constance, Germany, Switzerland, Austria:

Lake Nokoué, Benin:

Lake Chilika, India:

Lake Bolgoda, Sri Lanka:

Lakes Maduganga and Madampe, Sri Lanka:

Laguna Fúquene, Colombia:

Lake Baikal, Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation:

Wilson Inlet, Denmark, Western Australia, Australia:

Okawango Delta, Boswana:

Lake Uluabat, Turkey:

Lake Victoria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda:

Lake Kivu, Rwanda:

Lake Tonle Sap, Cambodia:

Lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia:

Clean Energy, Germany:

Lake Tota, Colombia:

ADER, Ivory Coast:

Lagunita Komplex – Paraguay:

Lake Malawi – Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique:

Lake Chapala, Chapala Jalisco, México:

Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, China:

Lake Zapotlán, Mexico: