PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
In the coastal lagoons of Italy, France and Bulgaria, the following main threats have been identified: a progressive decline in the capacity of water circulation; loss of nesting habitat and disturbance from seagulls (e.g. Larus michahellis); coastal habitat degradation and destruction resulting from the construction of embankments; disruption to hydraulic management and loss of favourable trophic and nesting conditions for birds; loss of suitable breeding conditions for colonial coastal waterbirds, including greater flamingo, pied avocet, slender-billed gull, Mediterranean gull, sandwich tern, gull-billed tern and common tern; disturbance of little tern colonies; loss and degradation of nesting habitat for target bird species; degradation of habitats by invasive species; bird collisions with electrical power lines; and accidental fires.
OBJECTIVES
The MC-SALT project targeted nine Natura 2000 network sites in coastal salt meadows in Italy, France and Bulgaria. It aimed to improve the conservation status of coastal and dunes habitat types (in particular, Coastal lagoons) and breeding bird species (greater flamingo, as well as various tern, wader and gull species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive). The main conservation actions planned were the optimisation of water flow in the salt works (e.g. by reconstructing sluices and drainage channels), the creation of artificial breeding islands, the burial of aerial electrical power lines, and the management of invasive seagulls.
RESULTS
The MC-SALT project resulted in positive trends in the conservation status of habitats and species in nine Natura 2000 network sites in coastal salt meadows in Italy, France and Bulgaria. The project produced a Management Plan for a Natura 2000 site, a management model for saltworks and guidelines for the control of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) a predator of waterbird eggs. The project was implemented in four coastal areas characterised by the presence of salt works of different sizes and management schemes, from a small abandoned site managed by an environmental NGO to a large-scale fully-operational commercial salt works managed by a private company. The areas were located in the Po Delta Regional Park of Emilia Romagna (Italy), on the outskirts of Cagliari in Sardinia (Italy), in the Camargue Regional Park (France), and in the coastal lagoon of Pomorie (Bulgaria).
The project carried out restoration and conservation of about 23 500 ha of Coastal lagoons (Habitats Directive habitat type 1150*), 319 ha of Salicornia habitats (1310), 56 ha of Mediterranean saline grasslands (1420), and also conducted fire prevention measures on Mediterranean salt meadows (1410) and two other habitats (1310 and 1420). Water circulation was restored or improved in salt works and costal lagoons, for example by re-establishing a link to the sea in the Camargue. Invasive alien plant species were removed from 9 ha of dune habitats in Pomorie. An increase in submerged vegetation, seagrass or macroalgae was recorded at all sites.
Target bird species were protected from human disturbance, and disturbance from predators, and new nesting sites were established. In Cervia (Italy), the project built 14 small islands; in Molentargius (Sardinia) it built two nesting islands while an embankments built for hydraulic restoration was colonised by nesting birds; in the Camargue two new islets were constructed and an island was built at Aigues-Mortes; and in Pomorie Lake, the project constructed two nesting platforms, four nesting islets, four floating rafts, and five nest boxes, each specific for different species. At all sites, there was an increase in the nesting of target species during monitoring. For example, in Pomorie Lake, the platforms were used for winter staging by pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus) and great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), and nesting by pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis), common tern (Sterna hirundo), little tern (Sterna albifrons), gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) and other species. Similar success was recorded for the new nesting sites at the other locations.
The project established additional measures for the conservation of targeted bird species in the Camargue, including fencing of 8 ha, restricting public access, and limiting clam fishing. In Aigues-Mortes, inflatable ‘scarecrows’ were used to deter predatory gulls, and 3.5 km of aerial power lines were replaced by buried lines. In Cervia, the project installed 90 cm mesh nets on the small islands to prevent herring gull access but allow passage of the smaller target species, and buried 500 m of power lines. These measures were generally effective.
Three targeted fish species (Aphanius fasciatus, Knipowitschia panizzae, Pomatoschistus canestrinii) benefitted from improvements in water circulation in coastal lagoons in Cervia and Molentargius, and also through habitat improvements in the Camargue. The improved hydraulic circulation also improved water quality to the general benefit of fish populations and the status of water plants and invertebrates. The project built six observation structures, including bird-watching towers and hides in Molentargius, Cervia and Aigues-Mortes, and improved facilities and provided bicycles for tourist use in Pomorie Lake. Noticeboards were installed and literature produced for all sites to raise public awareness of the target habitats and species. Visitor numbers increased in the sites during the project period. The project team organised seminars, workshops and other activities in each country, and produced technical publications in several languages.
On the policy side, the project produced a Management Plan for the Cervia salt works, which was formally approved by the region in December 2016, a general management model for salt works, and guidelines for Larus michahellis disturbance mitigation. A key project outcome was demonstrating how to bring diverse managing bodies together to achieve a common view on how saltworks should be managed to benefit nature. In addition to the socio-economic impact of the environmental actions, the project also helped increase salt production in Cervia and in the Camargue, thanks to the restoration of water circulation.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
