We are here Venice researcher Margherita Scapin presented the WaterLANDS project at the Frontiers in Ecology Congress (IntEcol22) in Geneva last week. Margherita presented the poster "The Venice Lagoon as an action site for wetland restoration upscaling".

The IntEcol22 Congress brought international researchers together to discuss diverse topics including the rewilding and restoration of degraded ecosystems, the effects of climate change on coastal wetlands, and traditional and indigenous ecosystem knowledge and rights of nature.

Speaking about the event, Margherita said:

"I was able to explain the WaterLANDS project characterizing the six action sites and 15 knowledge sites. More specifically, I presented the historical conditions that brought the Venice lagoon ecological functioning under threat, and why the EC-funded project is an immense opportunity to firstly research and design, and then demonstrate the potential for nature-based solutions to optimize the lagoon’s nature contribution to people and society at large."

Margherita received great engagement with her poster presentation, from plant ecologists interested in salt marsh conditions and functioning, as well as from attendees who were interested in the community-based aspect of the project, and who provided advice on how best to achieve stakeholder and community engagement to maximise the impact of the restoration activities.

Photo: Margherita Scapin of We are here Venice and WaterLANDS with Bastiaan Ibelings, Co-chair of the IntEcol22 Congress and Chair of the Scientific Committee.