In­ter­na­tio­nal: Hu­me­da­les cos­te­ros

The wetlands on the Pacific coast of South America form a valuable chain of areas of great ecological value with a high degree of endemism of numerous species. This initiative covers coastal wetlands along the entire arid-semi-arid coast of the South American Pacific. The approach is to create a dynamic for wetland conservation at regional level by promoting cooperation between different stakeholders, defining and prioritising lines of action and supporting their implementation.

The action plan, developed in a participatory manner in the previous phase, promotes cooperation between different stakeholders in Chile, Peru and Ecuador. On the occasion of the World Wetlands Day in February 2019, the Action Plan was published and a project competition was launched to encourage local non-profit organizations and universities to develop their own ideas and implement each of the components of the Action Plan according to their own capacities and needs for the protection of local coastal wetlands.

The projects started their operational phase in August 2019. A series of articles with news from the projects will be published in spring 2020 under Proyectos en Ejecución.

In mid-April 2020 there will be a meeting of the project teams and delegation of the environment ministries of Chile, Peru and Ecuador to discuss the implementation of regional programmes for the protection of coastal wetlands.

A total of 22 project proposals were evaluated by an independent jury and ten projects were selected:

• Strengthening local capacities for participatory monitoring of coastal birds in mangrove areas (Ecuador)
• Strengthening of research, administration and institutionality for the environmental management of the coastal wetlands of Pisco and San Andrés (Peru)
• Get to know our wetlands at the festivals on the north coast of Peru (Peru)
• The guardians of the wetlands (Peru)
• Pichilemu coastal wetlands: On the way to nature conservation (Chile)
• Environmental improvement and restoration to protect and conserve the Mantagua wetlands (Chile)
• Seabird watching network for the protection of wetlands on the semi-arid coast of Chile (Chile)
• Analysis and strengthening of governance in relation to coastal wetlands (Chile, Peru, Ecuador)
• E-learning course for the protection of coastal wetlands and seabirds (Chile)
  Water in the desert - promoting the conservation of wetlands in Antofagasta