System-Dynamic models for groundwater management in SW Messinia, Greece.

<p>The EUs Water Framework Directive, was adopted on October 2000, and it has been the basis for water management in all the EU countries since then (EU-WFD, 2000). According to the EUs-WFD, the use of groundwater bodies can be considered as sustaibale only when the portion of the overall recharge not needed by the ecology is abstracted (EU-WFD, 2000). Nonetheless, there are still cases where the implementation of the EUs-WFD faces challenges, and there is a need to better communicate the above message to water users. But how can we achieve this at a local scale?</p><p>In this work, we present the example of SW Messinia, Greece, an interlinked coastal-inland area in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In this case study, the water supply for all water uses (agriculture, tourism, domestic use) depends on groundwater resources which are also the main freshwater provider to a coastal wetland with high ecological and commercial value (Birds directive 2009/147/EC; Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC). Due to man-made interventions over the last 70 years, the wetland has passed the tipping point of being brackish (Maneas et al., 2019), and at present it is characterized as saline with hypersaline conditions for nearly 30% of the year (Manzoni et al., 2020). Unless freshwater inputs are enhanced by restoring hydrologic connectivity between the wetland and the surrounding freshwater bodies, salinity in the lagoon is expected to increase even more under future drier and warmer conditions (Manzoni et al., 2020). But how can we balance between societal and ecological groundwater needs, and how future decision making can get a broader acceptance by the society?</p><p>Under COASTAL EU project (COASTAL, 2019), we use System Dynamic (SD) models for communicating with local stakeholders towards improving land-sea interactions. In this work, we present a model which describes how inland groundwater abstraction has impacts to the wetland’s salinity. The model is used as a basis for a discussion with stakeholders and the co-creation of sustainable decision making with broader acceptance.</p><div>Literature<br><div> <p>EU WFD, 2000. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html (Accessed on 20-01-2021).</p> <p>Birds Directive 2009/147/EC (2009). The European Union Birds Directive. Available online at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=<br>CELEX:32009L0147 (accessed November 2, 2020) .</p> <p>Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC (1992). The European Union Habitats Directive. Available online at: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/<br>habitatsdirective/index_en.htm (accessed September 2, 2019).</p> <p>Maneas, G., Makopoulou, E., Bousbouras, D., Berg, H., and Manzoni, S. (2019). Anthropogenic changes in a Mediterranean coastal wetland during the last century-the case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece. Water 11:350. doi: 10.3390/w11020350 </p> <p>Manzoni, S., Maneas, G., Scaini, A., Psiloglou, B. E., Destouni, G., and Lyon, S. W. (2020). Understanding coastal wetland conditions and futures by closing their hydrologic balance: the case of Gialova Lagoon, Greece. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 24, 3557–3571. doi: 10.5194/hess-24-3557-2020</p> <p>Maneas G, Bousbouras D, Norrby V and Berg H (2020). Status and Distribution of Waterbirds in a Natura 2000 Area: The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece. Front. Ecol. Evol. 8:501548. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.501548</p> <p>COASTAL [Collaborative Land-Sea Integration Platform] (2019). European Union’s H2020 Research and Innovation Programme Under Grant Agreement No. 773782. Available online at: https://h2020-coastal.eu/ (accessed 03 February, 2019).</p> </div> </div>

Birds of Metauro river: a great ornithological diversity in a small Italian urbanizing biotope, requiring greater protection

This work is a qualitative analysis of the ornithological diversity in the area of Metauro river estuary and its lower course (Fano, Marche, Italy), a set of little wetlands of great birdlife conservation interest, defined in an urbanized context. Data collection took place through standardized censuses and ornithological observations in situ, from September 2010 to September 2020, integrated with an accurate bibliographic research on historical data. A total of 253 species have been recorded in the site; 59 (23.32%) breed in the area, whereas 50 (19.76%) species are vagrant and 72 species (28.57%) are included in the Annex I of the Birds Directive (79/409/CEE). We determined the following indices: NP/P (ratio between the number of species non Passerines and Passerines) = 1.94, O.V.I. (Ornithological Value Index) = 20.80. The data relating to species of conservation interest and vagrant are reported in detail, in order to provide useful information for interventions for greater protection of the area. The high ornithological diversity and species richness highlighted in this study confirms the regional and national importance of the Metauro river estuary and the wetlands in its lower course, providing further data and giving support to more incisive conservation interventions, made necessary by the ever-increasing impact of disturbance and low naturalistic protection, that threatens the existence of the various and small biotopes of this important naturalistic area.

Hindrances to Effective Implementation of the Habitats Directive in Italy: Regional Differences in Designating Special Areas of Conservation

“Natura 2000” is a coordinated network of protected areas that stretches across the European Union in compliance with two directives (the so-called “Habitats Directive” and the “Birds Directive”) that underpin the Union’s policies on biodiversity conservation. This study is aimed at assessing the implementation of the network by qualitatively analyzing how Special Areas of Conservation are being designated. Such designation process, which is being implemented, although with great delay, in a number of member states, entails the establishment of site-specific conservation measures that may be included within appropriate management plans or other development plans. A systematic documental analysis of official acts establishing Special Areas of Conservation and approving conservation measures and management plans was performed by taking Italy as a case study. The analysis focuses on four key topics, as follows: use of conservation measures and appropriate management plans; multi-level governance of the Natura 2000 sites, in terms of involved institutions and tiers of government; stakeholders’ inclusion in the designation process; and the relationship between conservation measures and the wider spatial planning system. The results show significant differences regarding the implementation of the Natura 2000 network and highlight potential general hindrances to completing the designation process in the European Union.

The Last Say? Comment on cjeus Judgement in the Tapiola Case (C-674/17)

This article is a comment to the judgement from October last year by the European Court of Justice’s in the Tapiola case (C-674/17). It can be seen as a follow-up to what I wrote about the Advocate General Henrik Øe’s opinion in the case, which was published in last issue of this journal (J. Darpö, Anything goes, jeepl 2019(3) 305–318). The case concerns a request for a preliminary ruling from the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court about the possibilities open under Article 16(1)(e) of the Habitats Directive (92/43) to perform license hunts on a strictly protected species listed under Annex iv to that Directive, namely the wolf (Canis lupus). This comment first describes the main points in the findings of the cjeu. Thereafter, a discussion follows focusing on three issues. The first concerns the relationship between Article 16(1)(e) of the Habitats Directive and the other derogation grounds in that provision from the strict protection of species. The next issue deals with the relationship between Annex iv and Annex V species, an issue linked to the assessment of the conservation status. The final question relates to how this conservation status is decided concerning species which roam over vast territories, not bothering about administrative restrictions such as national boarders or international obligations. At the end, I will make some concluding remarks about the wider implications of the judgement for the species protection under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive (2009/147).

Birds of the Entella river (Genoa, Italy): a qualitative assessment of bird diversity in an urbanizing biotope, with implications for management and conservation

This work presents the first assessment of the birds of the Entella river (Genoa, Liguria), a small wetland embedded in an urbanized matrix. Data were collected through standardized in situ censuses from April 2012 to June 2017 and integrated with historical and recent data from other verified sources. A total of 278 species are known from the site; 53 species (19.06%) breed in the area, whereas 62 (22.30%) species are vagrant and 81 species (29.14%) are included in the Annex I of the Birds Directive (79/409/CEE). We determined the following indices: NP/P ratio = 1.48, O.V.I. (Ornithological Value Index) = 20.53. In-depth data are provided for vagrant species and for species of conservation concern, to prioritize conservation efforts. The results underline the importance of the Entella river as a local biodiversity hotspot and suggest a possible role of the area as a stepping stone in the regional ecological network. The study highlights a dichotomy between urbanization and high bird diversity in the area and acts as a first step towards its conservation and implementation.

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs): their impact on conservation policy, advocacy and action

SummaryBirdLife International´s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) Programme has identified, documented and mapped over 13,000 sites of international importance for birds. IBAs have been influential with governments, multilateral agreements, businesses and others in: (1) informing governments’ efforts to expand protected area networks (in particular to meet their commitments through the Convention on Biological Diversity); (2) supporting the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the marine realm, (3) identifying Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention; (4) identifying sites of importance for species under the Convention on Migratory Species and its sister agreements; (5) identifying Special Protected Areas under the EU Birds Directive; (6) applying the environmental safeguards of international finance institutions such as the International Finance Corporation; (7) supporting the private sector to manage environmental risk in its operations; and (8) helping donor organisations like the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF) to prioritise investment in site-based conservation. The identification of IBAs (and IBAs in Danger: the most threatened of these) has also triggered conservation and management actions at site level, most notably by civil society organisations and local conservation groups. IBA data have therefore been widely used by stakeholders at different levels to help conserve a network of sites essential to maintaining the populations and habitats of birds as well as other biodiversity. The experience of IBA identification and conservation is shaping the design and implementation of the recently launched Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Partnership and programme, as IBAs form a core part of the KBA network.

Integration of Conservation Measures Concerning Natura 2000 Sites into Marine Protected Areas Regulations: A Study Related to Sardinia

This study defines and discusses a spatial planning approach, which can be integrated into conservation measures, regarding the sites of the Natura 2000 Network—established under the provisions of Directive No. 92/43/EEC (the “Habitats” Directive), and Directive No. 2009/147/EC (the “Birds” Directive)—into the regulations of marine protected areas. The protected marine area of the Island of Tavolara and Cape Coda Cavallo, located in North-Eastern Sardinia (which is overlapped by a Natura 2000 Site) is the spatial context for the implementation of the proposed methodology. The comprehensive outcome of this study, that is, the implementation of the proposed spatial planning approach into regulations regarding the previously mentioned protected marine areas, is particularly relevant for the scientific and technical debate on spatial planning. This debate is related to protection of nature and natural resources, since the issue of integration of the conservation measures related to Natura 200 Network, into regulations of protected areas, is an open question, which needs further consideration and insights.