The experience of the TransformAr project was presented during the event "Coastal Wetlands and Brackish Lakes – Education, Biodiversity, Environmental Value, Protection and Enhancement", organized by SIGEA (Italian Society of Environmental Geology) in collaboration with the National Council of Geologists.
The webinar gathered over 170 experts, including professionals and researchers from across Italy.
Francesca Etzi, representing the MEDSEA Foundation, gave a presentation entitled "Wetlands: a Nature-Based Solution," highlighting the crucial role of these ecosystems in addressing both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
Wetlands, recognized as Nature-based Solutions, perform multiple essential functions: they sequester carbon, regulate flooding, improve water quality, and provide vital habitats for biodiversity. Their functioning, based on natural ecological processes, often proves more effective and sustainable than many engineered solutions, with which they can also be integrated.
As a concrete example of this transformative approach, the presentation showcased the TransformAr project, currently active in Sardinia, in the San Giovanni – Marceddì lagoons where some installations were recently positioned.
The initiative involves improving ecological connectivity and hydraulic regulation through the installation of a smart gate, an intelligent gate equipped with sensors installed on four monitoring stations. These sensors collect and transmit real-time data on water quality, salinity, temperature, and water level—essential information for adaptive water resource management and for strengthening the ecosystem’s resilience to climate change.
The monitored risks include sea level rise, saline intrusion, water temperature increase, and growing hydrological variability.
“Wetlands represent one of the most effective solutions to simultaneously tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss,” emphasized Francesca Etzi, environmental restoration engineer, during her intervention.
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