Nature, our future The highlights of the Tour du Valat at the IUCN World Conservation Congress | | The 7th IUCN World Conservation Congress ended on the 11th of September by setting priorities on nature conservation for the next decade in the Marseille Manifesto, through which the IUCN calls for the protection of nature to be integrated into the post-COVID economic recovery plans, to adopt a new ambitious and effective global strategy for biodiversity at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), and urgently take action against the interlinked crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. With almost 6,000 participants registered onsite and more than 3,500 online participants, the hybrid format congress brought together representatives from governments, civil society, indigenous communities, the private sector as well as higher education and research to collectively decide how to address the most pressing conservation and sustainable development challenges. There was also more than 25,000 people who visited the Exhibition Area as well as the Nature Generation Areas. The Tour du Valat took an active part in this congress with its partners to present, argue and discuss the key issues in the upcoming decades. The interventions were numerous and the debates enriching. Some of our activities are presented here below. Find all the key moments of the IUCN Congress here | | The Mediterranean Solutions  The Mediterranean Solutions Stand (MedStand), co-hosted by 12 conservation organisations and partners of the MAVA Foundation: Accobams, CEPF, Conservatoire du Littoral, the IUCN Centre for Mediterranéean Cooperation, the MedFund, MedPAN, the MAVA Foundation, MedWet, the Plan Bleu, SPA/RAC, Tour du Valat and WWF, enabled the Mediterranean solutions to be showcased throughout the congress. Under the coordination of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, a very thorough programme focusing on the issues in the Mediterranean Basin was put in place. The Tour du Valat was in charge of organising an entire day dedicated to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the Mediterranean Basin during which the relevance and implementation of NbS in the Mediterranean was discussed through presentations of concrete examples. With the feedback given an action plan for the implementation of NbS in the Mediterranean region has started to form.
| | | | | Beyond our participation at the Mediterranean Solutions Stand, the Tour du Valat has been very active concerning the Nature-based Solutions theme with: the submission of the 031 resolution “The implementation of Nature-based Solutions in the Mediterranean Basin”, which was supported by all members; the hosting of an event on Nature-based Solutions in the Mediterranean within the framework of the IUCN French Committee.
| | The Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity The congress was the opportunity to promote the Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity throughout different events. On the 12th of March 2021, the MedWet Initiative, the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPan), the Mediterranean Small Islands Initiative (PIM), the Tour du Valat, the International Association for the Mediterranean Forests (AIFM) and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med), with the support of the Conservatoire du Littoral, signed in Marseille a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the “Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity”, with the aim of coordinating more efficiently the actions in favour of biodiversity and natural areas on every level. The Consortium offers the following services: (i) the strengthening of skills to encourage the exchange and sharing of experience; (ii) the creation of a think tank to gather and compare the views of experts on NbS concepts to better strengthen them and (iii) the creation of a collaborative system – the “Red Alert” – on development projects or practices that threaten natural sites, in order to limit or stop the impacts. | | | | | The Living Mediterranean Report This report is the first summary of biodiversity trends in the Mediterranean since 1992, the year of the Earth Summit in Rio. Thomas Galewski, coordinator of the report reminds us: “Our studies show that, with 20% of species threatened with extinction, protection measures are not enough. The Mediterranean hotspot needs funds, the investment of all the economic sectors and the appropriate management of our ecosystems in order to protect its biodiversity as well as its rich ecological and cultural landscapes.” The results of the Living Mediterranean Report were cited during the opening ceremony by the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, in the presence of the President Emmanuel Macron, and were also presented to diverse audiences in different events during the congress. | | | | | Awarding the IUCN Green List status to the Tour du Valat Estate The IUCN Green List award ceremony took place in Ensuès-la-Redonne as part of the World Conservation Congress. The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is the first global standard of best practice for area-based conservation and gives recognition to well-managed and well-governed protected and conserved areas. There are 59 sites in 16 countries across the world, and the Tour du Valat Estate is now counted among those sites. It is a testament to all the work that has been done for now more than 65 years at the Tour du Valat, a research institute on Mediterranean wetlands as well as a vast site of about 2,700 ha where we strive to reconnect and reconcile people with nature while protecting our biodiversity. | | | | | Partners and sponsors In the margins of the congress, the Tour du Valat co-organised various events with its partners or spoke at their invitation to a wide range of audiences. | |  A “Mediterranean Basin, hotspot of societal challenges” themed evening was co-organised by the Departmental Council of Bouches-du-Rhône and the Tour du Valat. It was an opportunity to remind an audience, which included various consuls based in Marseille, that the Mediterranean Basin is a triple hotspot: human pressures, climate change and biodiversity loss, and that it is urgent to take measures to address these threats. It was also the opportunity to highlight some partnership initiatives that intend to respond to these challenges.
| | | | |  Jean Jalbert participated in a roundtable organised by the Ministry of the Ecological (MTE) Transition on the challenges of preserving and restoring wetlands alongside Bérangère Abba, Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Martha Rojas-Urrego, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention and Jérôme Bignon, President of the Association Ramsar France. Using the Mediterranean as an example, Jean Jalbert was able to share his vision of the role of wetlands and how they take on meaning at the crossroads between science and action to benefit these territories.
Replay of the conference | | | | |  A successful evening was co-organised at the Intercontinental Hotel by Entrepreneurs pour la Planète and the Tour du Valat. About 180 people, business leaders, national and local elected officials, heads of public organisations met to discuss on the theme: Mobilising for Wetlands. “Very enriching exchanges and a common conviction: the ecological and climate health crisis is rooted in a misguided relationship with nature, and to meet these societal challenges requires close collaboration, shared visions and a long term commitment between economic actors, political actors and civil society in the broadest sense. These synergies are being built and it is exciting to see. It is up to us to accelerate this transformation” summarised Jean Jalbert, Director General of the Tour du Valat.
| | | | |  At the invitation of Joël Chassard, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC, Jean Jalbert presented the issues of the Mediterranean Basin and the responses of the Tour du Valat to these growing challenges. An event that allowed us to actively contribute to the essential dialogue between economic actors and those of nature conservation..
Replay of the conference | | | | | Signing the framework agreement with the Rhone Mediterranean Corsica Water Agency and delivering the Pôle-relais lagunes méditerranéennes award Mediterranean wetlands and lagoons have an irreplaceable place as a transitional area between land and water. As such, these remarkable natural environments fill unique functions which support the good status of water bodies. Convinced of the urgency and the interest in acting for the preservation of these wetlands, the Rhone Mediterranean Corsica Water Agency and the Tour du Valat renewed their partnership and have jointly committed to continue to develop joint actions for the acquisition of knowledge, restoration and innovative management targeted at Mediterranean wetlands and lagoons in order to achieve the good status fixed by the Water Framework Directive. | | | | | The signing of the agreement was followed by the presentation of the Pôle-relais lagunes méditerranéennes award, whose theme this year was “Preserving wetlands for the wellbeing of people”. It was awarded to the Var Department for the development of the “Espace nature départemental du Plan” located in the communes of La Garde and Le Pradet. | | | | | The Wetland Village in the Nature Generation Area Organised by Ramsar France, a Wetland village was set up inside the Nature Generation Area with the Pôle-relais lagunes méditerranéennes actively present inside. A spot that was particularly appreciated by the general public who, for the first time in the framework of the IUCN congresses, could finally access certain areas. | | | | | Tour du Valat Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes - Research institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands Le Sambuc - 13200 Arles (France) secretariat@tourduvalat.org / +33 (0)4 90 97 20 13 www.tourduvalat.org | | | | | Follow the Tour du Valat on our social networks: | | | | | | | | | |
