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Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the Global Change Context: Impacts and Management Issues

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Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the Global Change Context: Impacts and Management Issues LAGOONS AND COASTAL WETLANDS IN THE GLOBAL CHANGE CONTEXT: IMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES International Conference 1. Title of the Project International Conference: “Lagoons and coastal wetlands in the global change context: Impacts and management issues” Venice, July 2003 Starting date: January 2003 2. Objectives of the Project The objective of the present project is to organise and hold an international conference to respond to the challenge of integrating global change issues in wetland management. The conference will have a multidisciplinary view and will be based on high level scientific expertise. The aim is to identify gaps, problems and success in wetland knowledge and management. CORILA is an association between the University of Padua, the University of Venice, the University Institute of Architecture in Venice and the National Research Council, for coordinating and managing the research on the Venice Lagoon system. CORILA is presently managing a large multidisciplinary scientific project on the lagoon of Venice which embraces biology, chemistry, morphology, modelling, architecture and economics and is networking 70 research bodies and institutions. CORILA is in constant dialogue with the Public Administrations and promotes the dissemination of the results of the research to the policy makers. CORILA stipulated an agreement with the UNESCO, Regional Office for Science and Technology, Venice, Italy for the promotion and coordination of scientific research on Venice lagoon system and coastal wetlands. UNESCO, Regional Office for Science and Technology, Venice, Italy has large competencies in wetlands and lagoons conservation, and particularly in the safeguarding of the Venice Lagoon. It is member of MARS (European marine research stations network) and promoter of MAB (Man and the biosphere world network) which promotes and demonstrates a balanced relationship between people and nature. The UNESCO-ROSTE is the appropriate organizer of the proposed conference because of its pan-European and world-wide network interactions. The Venice Lagoon System is of exceptional scientific interest, given that it is one of the most important wetland sites in the Mediterranean, with other distinctive environmental features and is of unique cultural and social significance. Research findings from Venice are relevant to building a universal understanding of phenomena, as well as specific situations in other parts of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea. Particularly, in the case of coastal wetlands, there is currently no agreed common methodology for many aspects of biodiversity assessment and pollutant analysis, little standardized environmental quality indexes, and there are many missing elements as regards the use of biomarkers and biotic indexes. Scientific progress is necessary to support the conservation of biodiversity and the richness of geomorphological structures, given the trans-national significance of many of these areas (e.g. for migration bird) and the possible impacts of climate change (including sea level rise). Integration of the various strands of scientific 1 investigation must be conducted at an international level, in order to capture an understanding as complete as possible. The participation of representatives from public authorities and policy makers at the conference should be a support to this interdisciplinary integration and, in turn, policy decision making will be enriched by a broaden and deepen understanding of wetland significance and dynamics. The Conference will provide a platform to: improve the understanding of coastal wetland processes and of mechanisms for adaptation in different wetlands type; stimulate scientific community to develop integrated quality indexes for wetlands and lagoons; improve the understanding of the effects of climate change on wetland habitats; foster discussions on main management strategies and response options for mitigating the effects of climate change; provide case studies of numerous wetlands with different vulnerability level to climate change and human induced stresses also regarding environmental management issues; A number of crucial questions will be selected by the Scientific Committee and presented by authoritative invited speakers of the conference. It is foreseen that the following groups will be invited to the Conference: Scientists involved in wetland research and management from all over the world and in particular eastern European countries and Mediterranean areas. Decision-makers and representatives of organizations such as FAO, MAB, UNEP, IPCC, World Bank, WWF, etc. Representatives of the major UNESCO Environmental Programmes (MAB, IHP, IGBP, IOC). 3. Introduction and Justification of the Project The definition of wetlands adopted by the Ramsar Convention includes areas “with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”, which means that for the convention most of the coastal zone around the world falls under the definition of wetland (source: Ramsar COP8 – DR 4). Coastal wetlands are dynamic unpredictable and extremely variable ecosystems which provide vital services in securing human well-being in particular through their role in mitigating impacts of natural hazards, pollution, and flooding. They also provide economic benefits such as water supply, fisheries, agriculture, energy and wildlife resources, transport, recreation and tourism opportunities Coastal wetlands are complex habitats subjected to many fluctuations in physical and chemical characteristics (salinity, temperature, nutrient and pollutants concentration, morphological and hydrodynamic conditions) and recognised to be flexible and capable in natural condition to adapt to changes in climatic conditions. Wetlands organisms have evolved a particularly wide tolerance to environmental variation while the habitat availability and resource partitioning mainly affect their distribution patterns. 2 Nevertheless strong human pressures and inappropriate management practices have significantly reduced natural system’s adaptability and resilience. Climate change is an added stress for wetlands and will highly influence the nature and function of specific wetlands, in particular the hydrological regime and the biodiversity. Climate change in combination with human-induced pressures is likely to become increasingly important as a pressure and as a critical factor for degradation and loss. Interdisciplinarity is key to the study of these environments because different ecological, physical-chemical and man-induced processes, under the pervasive consequences of economic development, are influenced simultaneously. Increasing human presence in these areas (spreading urbanisation and industrial areas, growing recreation activities, etc.) needs to be monitored and controlled by appropriate management schemes. Effective inputs to policy making for managing coastal wetlands thus requires globally networked and scientifically integrated research. Human endeavour in response to global changes might be the major challenge for the 21 century and the last decade has seen the explosion of scientific literature documenting climate change and its impacts. An increased international attention has also been brought on wetlands which is so far the only ecosystem concerned with an international convention (Ramsar convention). Wetlands require mitigation of threats and adaptive management of habitat. Effective wetland conservation will depend increasingly on the capacity to integrate in operational planning global change issues. This conference will: - be an opportunity to share knowledge, at a world level, on the current functionality and structure of wetlands and it will make possible to hypothesize scenarios of altered ecosystem structure and their impact on important stocks, and potential feedback to the global system; - provide quantitative information for the economic evaluation of wetlands and cost-benefit analysis (for mitigation and rehabilitation options, land reclamation, regulation and development of fishing activities) to facilitate public authorities’ decision making and increase the reliability and efficiency of policy measures; - try to make research results easily accessible to wetland managers, in order to monitor environmental and climate change impacts on species and ecosystems; - promote collaboration and interaction between scientists from different fields and countries; - finally, spread results at different levels: scientists, public administrators and policy makers, as well as raising public awareness. The organization of this Conference should therefore be considered a logical outcome of the CORILA and UNESCO-ROSTE agreement in the promotion and coordination of scientific research on Venice lagoon system and coastal wetlands. 4. Duration of the Project 12 months between January 2003 and December 2003, according to the following timetable: January - July 2003: Organization of the conference; 10-13 July 2003: Holding of the conference; July - December 2003: Proceedings and publications of the conference acts. 3 5. Expected results Based on the work performed before the Conference and on materials to be discussed and presented during the Conference, the following results will be achieved: Creation of a dedicated website; Questionnaires on wetland quality assessment (to catalogue the best available integrated quality indexes for wetlands and lagoon) and economic assessment (to catalogue
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