The “International Conference on Wetland Conservation and Restoration” to improve action plans against climate change has made it possible to create new working groups.

The Global Nature Foundation has completed the project “International Conference on Wetland Conservation and Restoration” which has had the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition through its 2018 call for grants. The aim has been to improve the conservation of wetlands and their management in the face of climate change.

Under the slogan “A world without wetlands is a world without water”, the International Conference on Lakes and Wetlands has been organized on May 7, 8 and 9, 2019 in Valencia, putting l’Albufera de València as the protagonist. The event had a large number of attendees, with representation from the 5 continents (210 people from 36 countries). All this was a great opportunity to share experiences and results of work and research related to the sustainability of wetlands and their watersheds, especially in relation to climate change.

The ultimate objective of improving knowledge and facilitating relations between the different stakeholders involved in the management and affecting the conservation of our rivers, lakes and wetlands has materialized in new projects. It is worth highlighting those that aim to improve the potential of wetlands as a sink, until now underestimated, and that involve new management practices that understand these ecosystems as key allies in adaptation to climate change; Wetlands are central to these types of adequacy strategies, and help reduce emissions with activities that also provide viable alternatives to other less sustainable activities. Such is the case of malaria farming, a practice that consists of cultivating the marsh vegetation typical of wetlands. In the case of Mediterranean wetlands, allies in the fight against climate change, projects have been generated that apply research to improve their conservation (not morphological, hydromorphological, or biological community alteration), since their fixation capacity depends on it.