Brief Description

Bringing together the experience of wetland scientists and managers from different Mediterranean countries, this work aims to provide guidance for designing programmes which monitor ecological change in wetlands in the Mediterranean. It describes the steps related to planning a monitoring programme and includes detailed guidelines for the selection of appropriate indicators to monitor specific issues.

The first volume starts out with an overview of the types of change observed in wetlands and the causes that drive change in the Mediterraenan. A method for developing a monitoring programmes, recommended by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, is detailed subsequently, with reference to practical examples. The process of selecting indicators as well as information on the relevant tools for monitoring these indicators is then presented. Volume 1 is available online below, in PDF form (11,9 MB)

The second volume contains a bibliography on monitoring as well as an choice and techniques relevant to specific indicators. The last section presents five case studies from different countries in the Mediterranean providing insights on how monitoring programme may be implemented on the ground. Volume 2 is available online below in PDF form (3,54 MB)

Reference: Tomas Vives P (ed) (1996) Monitoring Mediterranean Wetlands: A methodological guide MedWet Publication Wetlands International, Slimbridge UK and ICN, Lisbon