MedINA celebrated the World Wetlands Day 2023 at the Messolonghi-Aitoliko Lagoon, one of the 10 Greek Ramsar wetlands, together with the local organization Messolonghi by Locals. World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February the 2nd, the date on which the international Convention for wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.
MedINA and MbL team members accompanied a group of students from the 2nd High School of Messolonghi to the lagoon and toured the wetland. The students learnt why wetlands are so important for the environment and humans and why efforts must be made continuously to protect and restore the damage that has been done over time, as per this year’s World Wetlands Day theme, “It’s time for wetland restoration”.
Upon their return to school, the children had the opportunity to take part in an experiential role play, where participants were divided into groups with different and conflicting interests regarding wetlands (farmers, fishermen, animal breeders, environmentalists, residents, entrepreneurs, etc.), and altogether tried to design management plans through consensual processes. The students participated in the role play with great enthusiasm and extremely useful conclusions were finally drawn.
MedINA would like to thank the Messolonghi by Locals team for their support and for doing an excellent job in highlighting the environmental and cultural heritage of the area, the students and teachers of the 2nd High School for their participation and cooperation, and the MedWet Initiative for their support. We would also like to thank the organizations Friend of the Earth (FOE)/Friend of the Sea (FOS) and Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFD) for their financial support.
