I - SWAMP
Acronym: I - SWAMP
Title: Integrated small wetlands of the Alps monitoring and protection
Call: Interreg Alpine Space - Small Scale
Duration: 01/09/2022 – 28/02/2024 (18 months)
Coordinator: TESAF
Total EU Contribution: € 404.600,00
TESAF Budget: € 119.000,00
Responsible Scientific Officer/Investigator: Tommaso Anfodillo
Research Team: Tommaso Anfodillo, Raffaella Dibona, Samuele Pellizzari, Giulio Menegus
Brief description: The project capitalizes on the lead partner's experience in a pilot INTERREG IT-AT small project (DLBiotop) about wetland conservation. Ponds and other small wetlands are a key part of the Alpine blue infrastructure: widely destroyed or modified over the last century, they are still overlooked and are often not properly managed. There is a need for an integrated approach to their protection and restoration at a regional scale, to avoid further loss of biodiversity, habitats and ecosystem services. Our main objective is to roll out a method for the conservation of small Alpine wetlands with an approach based on both science-based decision-making and responsibilization of local communities. The project will contribute to the specific objective 1.2, with tools and activities designed to enhance the conservation of wetland biodiversity and habitat quality and connectivity. A protocol for the monitoring and conservation of small Alpine wetlands (based on surveys about target taxonomic groups and simple actions of restoration) will be designed. It will be tested on several sites in Austria, Italy and Slovenia, with positive consequences for habitat conservation. It will then be provided to relevant stakeholders, e.g., local authorities willing to make well-informed decisions about wetland management. The second output will be education: stakeholders (authorities, NGOs and tourist operators) will be offered courses about the importance and opportunities of wetland conservation (e.g. sustainable tourism). Schools will be offered activities of environmental education. The communities will gain in knowledge about wetlands and competencies about their management. The transnational collaboration will allow to design and implement the solutions jointly, and to test them in different sites and areas. Sharing knowledge and expertise will be necessary to obtain a method applicable to the whole Alpine region, to enhance the protection and restoration of small endangered wetlands
