News

The Gulf of Oristano in Sardinia is characterized by a complex system of rivers and wetlands which represents a Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity in terms of species and habitat. Among these, the Marceddì lagoon (SIC San Giovanni, Corru S'Ittiri and Marceddì pond), a deep marine gulf, within an area of ​​international importance RAMSAR, inserted between the agricultural plain Arborea - Terralba and the promontory of Capo Frasca. An area subject to frequent extreme events linked to climate change, including severe drought and heavy rains. It is in this area that the working group coordinated by the MEDSEA Foundation will work on over the next 4 years, within the TransformAr project. Funded by the European Union (Horizon - H2020 project), TransformAr aims to develop and demonstrate pathways, products and services to initiate and accelerate large-scale adaptive processes for adaptation to climate change in vulnerable areas and communities across Europe. The Gulf of Oristano, the only site in Italy of the project, among the areas in Sardinia most exposed to extreme events, linked to the climate. 

From Wednesday 22 June until June, 24th, about forty experts from 11 different countries will meet in Oristano, at the headquarters of the UNO Consortium - University of Oristano in via del Carmine, for the second Consortium Meeting which will serve to discuss possible implementation solutions and innovation ecosystems (EIs) in sites of interest (6 in total). Tomorrow, 23 June, the visit to the demonstration site of San Giovanni will take place, at the end of the briefing which will take place at the Marceddì Sea Museum. There will be talks by Luca Cocco, Director General of the Environmental Defense Department, Antonio Trabucco, Researcher of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), and the experts and representatives of the MEDSEA Foundation taking care of the project. 

"Given the climate change underway and the exposure of the entire Gulf to the extreme events connected to it, Oristano is determined to do everything necessary for the adaptation, also with the support of the solutions provided by the TransformAr project", so the neo-Mayor of Oristano, Massimiliano Sanna, in the welcome speech to the guests at the opening of the three days of conferences. 

"Over the last decade, the hydraulic system created in the last century capable of protecting urban agricultural areas has proved inadequate due to extreme climatic events - explains the project Alessio Satta, president of the MEDSEA Foundation -, with increasing damage to biodiversity and to fishing. . Through the use of intelligent control solutions, such as the “SMART opening” system, located at the mouth between Flùmini Mannu and the San Giovanni Pond, it will be possible to control the flooding level of outgoing rivers or contain fishes. The positioning of hydrometers and sensors inside the lagoon will allow to have under control the level of the various parameters (temperature, pH, redox potential, percentage of dissolved oxygen, saturation…).  A weather station will allow the implementation of a civil protection weather warning system; last but not least, ecological lagoon nautical vehicles (powered by electricity) will be provided for monitoring and observing the lagoon seabed and environmental parameters with the participation of local fishermen