Wetland Contracts as Sustainable Governance Tools: A Review of the Output of the Interreg Project CREW “Coordinated Wetland Management in Italy-Croatia Cross Border Region”
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Evolution of the Wetland Contract Tool
3. Objectives
- To protect the biodiversity of Italian and Croatian coastal wetlands through the implementation of a coordinated methodology for wetland management (Wetland Contract). By enhancing the implementation of an integrated tool, the project ensures greater coordination between stakeholders and decision-makers, limiting and reducing the occurrence of conflicts between conservation issues and economic activities, and favouring the achievement of long-term sustainable results;
- To improve awareness of the value of wetland ecosystems among policymakers, managers, professionals and the general public, and to strengthen their active engagement in territorial governance;
- To share a cross-border wetland management strategy to strengthen synergies between Italian and Croatian coastal wetlands;
- To create a cross-border Observatory to monitor best practices and data on Italian and Croatian coastal wetlands.
4. The Partnership and Target Areas
- VL—Northern Lagoon of Venice (Iuav University);
- ML—Lagoon of Marano (Comunità Riviera Friulana);
- OR—Ofanto River (Patto Territoriale Nord Barese Ofantino);
- SR—Natural Regional Reserve of Sentina (Comune di San Benedetto del Tronto);
- RP—Special Ornithological Reserve of Palud (Natura Histrica);
- VM—Veliko i Malo blato (Natura Jadera);
- DN—Protected Natural Areas of Dubrovnik-Neretva (Dubrovnik-Neretva County).
4.1. Geo-Morphology, Natural and Cultural Heritages
4.2. Conventions and Protection Areas
4.3. Critical Issues in Governance Processes
5. Methods and Results
5.1. A horizontal Comparison of Action Plans
5.1.1. Environmental Components and Indicators
- a.
- Biodiversity
- b.
- Water quality
- c.
- Ecosystem services
- d.
- Protection level
- e.
- Other
5.1.2. Type of Actions
- a.
- Concrete Actions
- b.
- Monitoring and Survey activities
- c.
- Studies and Projects
- d.
- Communication and Education Actions
- e.
- Governance Activities
5.2. Highlights
- a.
- Safeguard and Valorisation
- b.
- Integrated Governance
- c.
- Awareness-raising and Learning
6. Conclusions
- The collaboration between stakeholders and decision-makers, initiated in the target areas, has made it possible to build knowledge frameworks capable of integrating technical-scientific know-how and practical situated knowledge. These integrated knowledge frameworks constitute an indispensable reference for the protection of biodiversity (Objective 1).
- The Action Plans defined thanks to the participatory processes developed in the seven target areas provide for the proposed actions to be taken on board not only by institutional actors, but rather stimulate the assumption of responsibility by all signatories. This made it possible to increase the awareness of the various parts of society regarding the values at stake and the commitment of the various actors (Objective 2).
- The constant exchange between CREW partners and the continuous updating with respect to ongoing activities, methodologies, solutions and ideas proposed in the different target areas strengthened the synergy between Italian and Croatian partners and favoured the construction of a shared cross-border strategy for the governance of wetlands (Objective 3).
- The three principles that emerged as most relevant to the whole process in all the target areas (safeguard and valorisation; integrated governance; awareness-raising and learning) were the basis for the construction of the Observatory, aimed at monitoring not only the data collected, but also the best practices identified and able to guide the formation of other Actions (Objective 4).
- It is not always possible to overcome certain internal contrasts between stakeholders, public/private bodies and organisations in the participation phases, due to inherent incompatibilities between the stakes involved;
- Not all parts of society are interested in or willing to dialogue and negotiate with the rest of the community, e.g., certain economic sectors, so that in some cases it may be difficult to broaden the map of stakeholders;
- Some actors, particularly small associations, struggle to get involved and take charge of the Actions included in the Action Plan;
- Lack of funds and the difficulty of finding economic resources may jeopardise the implementation of Actions, projects and initiatives, slowing down the progress of the Action Plan;
- Changes in local governments can sometimes represent an interruption in the implementation of the Action Plan, and the succession of different political expressions can sometimes cause suspensions in the activities carried out by local authorities.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Environmental Components | Number of Actions | TOT | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LV | ML | OR | SR | RP | DN | VM | ||
a. Biodiversity | 9 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 13 | - | 40 |
b. Water quality | 8 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | - | 37 |
c. Ecosystem services | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | - | 29 |
d. Protection level | 7 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 35 |
e. Other | 15 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 43 |
Actions | Number of Actions | TOT | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LV | ML | OR | SR | RP | DN | VM | ||
Concrete Actions | 14 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 27 | - | 66 |
Monitoring Activities and Surveys | 25 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 41 |
Studies and Projects | 39 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 49 |
Communication and Education Actions | 37 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 41 | 3 | 97 |
Governance Activities | 24 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 40 |
Actions | Private Subject | Public Subject | Total Budget (EUR) |
---|---|---|---|
Concrete Actions | 63 | 180 | 7.235.433 |
Monitoring Activities and Surveys | 45 | 100 | 940.333 |
Studies and Projects | 68 | 123 | 1.122.567 |
Communication and Education | 109 | 225 | 930.999 |
Governance Activities | 78 | 142 | 332.000 |
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Cantaluppi, M.G.; De Marchi, M.; Pace, M.; Tosi, M.C. Wetland Contracts as Sustainable Governance Tools: A Review of the Output of the Interreg Project CREW “Coordinated Wetland Management in Italy-Croatia Cross Border Region”. Sustainability 2023, 15, 6491. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086491
Cantaluppi MG, De Marchi M, Pace M, Tosi MC. Wetland Contracts as Sustainable Governance Tools: A Review of the Output of the Interreg Project CREW “Coordinated Wetland Management in Italy-Croatia Cross Border Region”. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6491. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086491
Chicago/Turabian StyleCantaluppi, Maria Giulia, Marta De Marchi, Michela Pace, and Maria Chiara Tosi. 2023. "Wetland Contracts as Sustainable Governance Tools: A Review of the Output of the Interreg Project CREW “Coordinated Wetland Management in Italy-Croatia Cross Border Region”" Sustainability 15, no. 8: 6491. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086491