Initiatives 

Publications 

The restoration of the former saltworks in the Camargue: a Nature-Based Solution

Nature-based solutions are an attractive alternative for natural hazard management control offering protection to the environment while improving biodiversity, food production and human wellbeing.

Questions for...

Antonio Troya, Director of the IUCN Center for the Mediterranean Cooperation.

“Iraqi Marshes” wins first prize at the Ménigoute film festival

Directed by Aurélien Prudor, and with the participation of the Tour du Valat and other partners, the film Marshes of Iraq won first prize at the 2018 Ménigoute ornithology film festival, which was awarded by the Marais Poitevin Regional Natural Park..

A greater flamingo and a white spoonbill shot illegally in the Camargue

In recent months, two birds from protected, emblematic wetland species monitored in our research programmes have been found dead, killed by poachers. The Tour du Valat, the Syndicat mixte de la Camargue gardoise and the Fédération des Chasseurs du Gard have decided to take legal action.

The Tour du Valat signs the appeal launched by European scientists to forbid lead shot in wetlands

The Tour du Valat signed the appeal supported by 54 experts and institutions from 17 European countries in favour of forbidding lead shot in wetlands.

Help us spread our wings!

Together, let’s ensure that wetlands, as one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, remain rich in biodiversity and favorable for human wellbeing.

We must act fast! By supporting the Tour du Valat, you can contribute to conserving wetlands!

Press release – Extreme climatic events, biodiversity loss… What if wetlands were part of the solution?

Fully 48% of wetlands in the Mediterranean basin have disappeared since 1970, according to a recent analysis, while the average global loss is around 35%. The most productive ecosystem on the planet is also the most endangered. There is great urgency to act, and solutions exist!

International environmental conventions are helping birds adapt to climate change

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from the Tour du Valat and the CESCO, the international conventions for the protection of biodiversity are having a positive impact on how bird populations in the Mediterranean Basin adapt to climate change.

The AEWA African Initiative Technical Support Unit strengthens its migratory waterbird monitoring capacities in Africa

The Technical Support Unit (TSU) of the AEWA African Initiative initiated and facilitated a training workshop on the identification and censusing of wintering waterbirds in Africa, held in Mweka, Tanzania from 20 to 28 September 2018.

Release of the news report “The Mediterranean Wetlands Outlook 2: Solutions for sustainable Mediterranean wetlands”

The Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory, functioning under the umbrella of Tour du Valat and the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative MedWet, published in October 2018 the new report Mediterranean Wetlands Outlook 2: Solutions for sustainable Mediterranean wetlands.It updates the situation for Mediterranean wetlands since 2012.

André Hoffmann awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal

On 2 October 2018, André Hoffmann, President of the Tour du Valat Foundation was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal.

A new project launched to protect wetlands and their biodiversity in seven Mediterranean countries

In collaboration with numerous NGOs and Mediterranean institutions, the Tour du Valat has designed a wetlands protection project for seven countries in the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan).

Reinforced cooperation with the Directorate General of Forestry in Algeria

the Tour du Valat and the DGF signed a cooperation framework agreement during a recent assignment in Algeria, which amongst other things identified subjects of common interest and possible funding opportunties.

Fourth Camargue Saltworks Lagoons and Marshes Newsletter is published

The fourth newsletter (in French) of the Camargue Saltworks Lagoons and Marshes project has just been published. The aim of this project, piloted by the Camargue Regional Natural Park and co-managed with the Camargue National Nature Reserve and the Tour du Valat, is the ecological restoration of 6500 ha of former salt ponds, now owned by the Conservatoire du littoral National Coastal Protection Agency.

A customised eco-worksite for dismantling 20 electricity pylons on the Tour du Valat Reserve

Throughout the operation, RTE worked in close collaboration with the Nature Reserve teams. Case-by-case, a specific methodology has been used for the pylons situated in highly environmentally sensitive areas.

Publication of the monitoring summary report on the recreational and educational services provided by wetlands

The Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory (Tour du Valat) and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier have published a results summary for 2017, the first year of monitoring the recreational and educational services provided by Mediterranean wetlands.

Toward more detailed mapping of natural habitats

Managing an estate of nearly 2,700 hectares, the Tour du Valat has been developing research programmes on Mediterranean wetlands and innovative management methods for many years.

Nature & culture: release of a new web toolkit

MedINA has gathered and synthesized already existing best practices in site management and created a new tool to help nature conservation managers and other people working on nature-culture issues and natural resource management.

The Tour du Valat signs the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity Appeal

On its 10th anniversary, the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) launched a joint appeal with its partners: “It’s up to us all collectively to help biodiversity: our common future depends on it.”

The Tour du Valat joins the campaign to save European water legislation

On 9 October 2018, the Tour du Valat joined the #ProtectWater campaign initiated by a group of European NGOs that support the Living Rivers Europe coalition.

European Roller migration – follow them live!

Timothée Schwartz, is currently working on a thesis to assess the efficacy of artificial nest boxes for the European Roller in Les Baux Valley and the Alpilles, the Plain of Roussillon, and along the Canal du Midi in collaboration with the Tour du Valat and the Montpellier Centre of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE). In this context, Timothée and his team fitted five rollers with satellite tags in order to follow their annual migration to southern Africa.

A delegation of students from Harvard University visits the Tour du Valat

On Thursday 27 September 2018, a delegation of students from Harvard University, currently in residence at the LUMA Foundation in Arles, came to meet the Tour du Valat teams.

7^th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP7) to AEWA

2^nd "Economy & Biodiversity" forum

International Workshop « Implementation of Nature Based Solutions to tackle climate change: Focus on the Mediterranean region »