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On October 26, the participatory process towards an integrated management of the Oristanese wetlands site kicked off in Oristano. An essential step which follows the signing of the Oristano Coastal Wetlands Contract.

The series of meetings will last till May 2022 with the aim to meet and discuss with everybody representing the civil, scientific and economic society of the 11 municipalities involved in the new governance tool for wetlands and coastal areas.

Two days and four meetings to initiate a dialogue with all the institutional, economic, cultural and environmental forces operating in the Gulf of Oristano, to clarify the potential of the Contract and to collect ideas and proposals for designing an efficient system of territorial governance of the sites Natura 2000. The listening center is handled by the experts of the MEDSEA Foundation, which has been active for four years in the Oristano area with the Maristanis Project, born for the protection of wetlands of international importance protected by the Ramsar Convention that surround the gulf.

The first sessions of the participatory process, held between 26 and 28 October in the Council Chamber of the Province of Oristano, saw the participation of the fishing and farmer associations, the large companies operating in the area, the research centers as the International Marine Center of Torregrande and the CNR.

All those involved have opened up to collaboration, showing interest in the novelty represented by the Contract, and expressing the hope that it will serve to streamline many of the bureaucratic steps that slow down the development of projects and innovation.

"The hope is that the Contract can become a driving force for investments for the entire fishing sector and coastal areas that are not currently fully exploited", Alessandro Porcu, technical director of the S. Andrea Fishermen Cooperative, explains. The new tool, Porcu continues, "can allow us to overcome a series of hurdles related to business financial support and fundings, especially for those in the fishing sector which more than any other are suffering from the effects of natural disasters, due to climate change. If the coastal contract is intended to protect the current activities in the area and, at the same time, initiates a process of sustainability of the resources and territories without setting blocks and constraints as happened in the past, with the active involvement of all the interested parties, it can become the key tool for the relaunch of the entire Gulf of Oristano ".

Andrea Liverani, a young entrepreneur from Terralba who, with his drone, capable of accurately analyzing the criticality and needs of crops, has already brought innovation to the gulf, shared his viewpoint: "During the first meeting we immediately put in place our ideas and the needs of farms. The contract provides us with a great tool, both in economic terms and in terms of bureaucratic simplification, streamlining the dialogue between companies and institutions as much as possible. It is up to us to take advantage of it and take this great development opportunity”.

“The Contract is a useful tool for enhancing and promoting the area, contributing to local development. Being part of the local companies will allow us to propose paths and objectives that go in the direction of protecting nature and sustainable development”, Francesca Figus, marketing manager of Nieddittas, explained.

The next stages of the “listening tour” will be dedicated to fishing: in Santa Giusta (Open Space) and Terralba (Teatro Comunale), respectively on 9 and 11 November, the MEDSEA team will meet all the cooperatives operating between the sea and ponds of the gulf. The first cycle of meetings will close in mid-December in Oristano, with a plenary assembly. The Contract is a voluntary act of shared commitment to improve the protection and implement an integrated management of the natural resources. At the moment it is adopted by eleven Italian regions with more than 93 contracts in progress and eleven already signed. The macro-objectives that the contract aims to achieve are seven. These include the improvement of the ecological status of wetlands of international importance (the Ramsar sites), the protection and conservation of the biodiversity of the territory and the design of concrete actions for adaptation to extreme events related to climate change. For the updated calendar, info and updates, you can look at maristanis.org and / or contact the coordination group of the meetings by writing directly to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.