Protection et Restauration des Zones Humides en Méditerranée (PROZHUM)
Funding: Supported by the French Development Agency (AFD)
Scope:
The initiative brings together 14 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from 10 countries across the southern and eastern Mediterranean basin. SPNL proudly represents Lebanon in this regional effort.
Objectives
- Strengthen the technical and organizational capacities of partner CSOs.
- Implement local projects focused on wetland management and protection.
- Lead a large-scale restoration initiative in the Gediz Delta, Turkey.
- Establish a mentorship program where experienced CSOs support and guide others, fostering knowledge exchange in conservation and project management.
Impact Goals
- Enhance wetland management and protection across the Mediterranean.
- Preserve biodiversity while improving the well-being of local communities.
- Promote long-term conservation success through regional collaboration and capacity-building.
SPNL’s Local Project in Anjar
Restoration and Protection of Anjar Wetland
A dedicated initiative for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.
Protection et Restauration des Zones Humides en Méditerranée – The PROZHUM
The PROZHUM (Protection et Restauration des Zones Humides en Méditerranée) project brings together 14 Civil society organizations (CSOs) from 10 countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The three-year effort directly supports 25 large-, small- and micro-scale wetland protection and restoration projects and increases capacity in developing, implementing, and expanding wetland projects.
CSOs are key players in Mediterranean wetland conservation thanks to their efforts to manage, raise awareness of, and monitor these environments. However, they are often stretched thin in fulfilling their financial and technical capacities. The first series of projects will support the 14 historically involved CSOs, while in the second phase these CSOs will act as mentors and support other organizations. The project also supports one large-scale ecological restoration project in the Gediz delta in Turkey in a site with notable levels of biodiversity, degradation and local stakeholder involvement.
The wide-ranging activities rely on the existing networks of the Mediterranean Waterbird Network (MWN), the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands (MAW), and the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory (MWO). Knowledge production and sharing will be ensured by data visualization tools developed by the MWO and by education modules developed by the MWN. The project also funds the implementation of the MAW’s “Green Light” protocol at six sites to support the launch of new wetland restoration projects.
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) implements France’s policy on international development and solidarity. Through its financing of NGOs and the public sector, as well as its research and publications, AFD supports and accelerates transitions towards a fairer, more resilient world. It also provides training in sustainable development (at AFD Campus) and other awareness-raising activities in France.
With our partners, we are building shared solutions with and for the people of the Global South. Our teams are at work on more than 4,000 projects in the field, in the French Overseas Departments and Territories, in 115 countries and in regions in crisis. We strive to protect global public goods – promoting a stable climate, biodiversity and peace, as well as gender equality, education and healthcare. In this way, we contribute to the commitment of France and the French people to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Towards a world in common.
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Organisations
- Albanian Ornithological Society (AOS) | Albania
- Association “Les Amis des Oiseaux” (AAO/BirdLife en Tunisie) | Tunisia
- Association nationale algérienne d’Ornithologie (ANAO) | Algeria
- Bird Protection & Study Society of Serbia (BPSSS) | Serbia
- Center for Protection and Research of birds (CZIP) | Montenegro
- Doga Dernegi (BirdLife Turquie) (DD) | Turkey
- Groupe de recherche pour la Protection des Oiseaux au Maroc (GREPOM) | Morocco
- Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania (INCA) | Albania
- Libyan Society for Birds (LSB) | Libya
- Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) | North Macedonia
- Ornithological Research Centre (ORC) | Turkey
- Société protectrice des Animaux et de la Nature (SPANA) | Morocco
- Société de la protection de la Nature du Liban (SPNL) | Lebanon
- World Wide Fund for Nature North Africa Tunisia (WWF-NA) | Tunisia
