SUCCESS STORY

Marine Coastal Wetland Contract, an Integrated Management for the Gulf of Oristano

The Gulf of Oristano, in Sardinia, Italy, is one of the richest Mediterranean areas in biodiversity. A complex system, which hosts 6 ponds protected by the Ramsar Convention and a Marine Protected Area, that of the Sinis Peninsula-Mal di Ventre Island, which extends for 250 km2. Sea, coast and marshy areas are home to hundreds of fish, avian and plant species. For centuries the natural resources of the gulf and the human activities such as fishing and craftmanship have lived in balance.

Since the second half of the twentieth century, the balance has been dangerously altered. Trawling, extensive agriculture, pollution and tourism have created numerous problems in the area. At the same time, climate change threatens vast stretches of the coast, which could be submerged by 2100. These are threats that may lead to a permanent change of the gulf ecosystem and the life of the 80,000 people who inhabit it.

In over six years of work, the Maristanis project has intervened throughout the territory of the Gulf of Oristano, promoting the protection of animal and plant species, reducing the use of water in agriculture, supporting forms of sustainable production in fishing and craftmanship, restoring the artistic heritage organically linked to the life and history of the territory. However, the peculiarity of Maristanis does not lie only in the number and quality of its actions. After a long process, in 2021 the MEDSEA Foundation managed to involve 11 municipalities that overlook the gulf in the signing of the Coastal Marine Wetlands Contract. Through a Coastal Assembly that brings together institutional and private actors, the decision-making fragmentation has been overcome, the environmental complexity of the gulf will benefit from articulated and collective responses, suited to the challenges posed by our time.