Initiatives 

Publications 

The impact of climate change on Mediterranean wetlands

Knowledge assessment about the predictable impacts of climate change on Mediterranean wetlands, on the occasion of the 22nd Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Marrakech from 7 to 18 November. 

Questions for...

In memoriam Luc Hoffmann, commemoration held on 19 August 2016

Following the death of Luc Hoffmann on 21 July 2016, at his home at the Tour du Valat, and the intimate funeral services organised by his family in Switzerland, his family and the Tour du Valat team felt it was essential to hold a ceremony in memory of him in the Camargue, his cherished land of adoption. You can now access the photos and texts of the event on the Tour du Valat website.

Towards an “Alliance for Mediterranean Wetlands”? 

On October 4th and 5th 2016, representatives of international and national NGOs and research organisations from around the Mediterranean Basin met up at the Tour du Valat to discuss the concept and possible development of an “Alliance for Mediterranean Wetlands”. 

Petit Saint-Jean Estate wins Fondation de France award 

Remote use of the Tour du Valat document collection now possible

The Tour du Valat Resource Centre now offers a set of online services thanks to its new documentary web portal, available in French and also in English before the end of the year. Web users can search our specialized document collection in ornithology, ecology and Mediterranean wetlands conservation.  

Waterbird conservation: the Tour du Valat facilitates two workshops in Oran and Arles

In September 2016, the Tour du Valat was actively involved in the field of waterbird conservation, through the facilitation of two workshops in Oran (Algeria) and Arles.

Pan-African Ornithology Congress (PAOC) held in Dakar 

The Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC) took place in Dakar from 16 to 21 October. The Technical Support Unit to the African Initiative to the AEWA, represented by the Tour du Valat and the ONCFS, presented the results of two migratory bird censusing projects in the Nile Valley.

The Friends of the Tour du Valat Association in action! 

The number of members has never stopped increasing since the Association was founded, the most fitting tribute that the Association could pay to the man who was its Honorary President, Luc Hoffmann: enacting his wish to create a community of men and women who share the same values and weave the links of a reconciliation between Man and Nature throughout the world.

New partnership between the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and the Camargue 

On October 11th, 2016 a memorandum of understanding was signed in Tulcea, Romania, by the Camargue Regional Natural Park and the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, acknowledging the similar management objectives of the two biosphere reserves and their emblematic deltas.

International waterbird censuses in Africa: a workshop in Dakar from 22 to 25 October, 2016

A workshop on data management, linked to the session on migratory waterbirds at the PAOC, was held from 22 to 25 October, just after the PAOC. It was organized by the Technical Support Unit to the AEWA African Initiative, in conjunction with the  AEWA secretariat and Wetlands International.

Partnership with the Aquatis Foundation for the discovery of aquatic habitats and the Camargue 

A collaboration agreement has been signed between the Tour du Valat and the Aquatis Foundation, which is developing an educational facility focusing on the theme of freshwater and aquatic habitats to open in 2017 near Lausanne, Switzerland.

New book release (in French): "What will we do with Wild Ducks? Hunting, Nature and Adaptive Management"

The book written by Raphaël Mathevet, a geographer and ecologist at the CNRS, and Matthieu Guillemain, a researcher at the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS), who is based at the Tour du Valat and a specialist of the population dynamics of ducks, geese and swans, has just been published by Quae publishing.

Algeria: a new national strategy for the ecosystem management of wetlands 

Algeria has committed to implementing a national wetlands strategy, which has been validated in March 2016 and which is based on an ecosystem approach. It has defined 18 specific objectives, with for each of them activities to put into place before 2030.

22nd Forum of Natural Area Managers: "Environmental Engineering and Green and Blue Infrastructure" 

2016 Forum of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean 

Open day on the occasion of the 2017 World Wetlands Day