Article | 07 Nov, 2018

Plant Species Conservation and Complementary Approaches focus at the 2nd Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week in Malta 12-16 November

The 2nd Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week (MPCW) with the theme “Conservation of Mediterranean Plant Diversity: Complementary Approaches and New Perspectives” will take place at the University of Malta, Valletta Campus from 12 to 16 November 2018.

Photo: Med Plant Week

The main organizers of the event are IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, the ‘CARE-MEDIFLORA’ project, and the University of Malta. Additionally a number of entities are promoting conservation initiatives, and these side events include Global Diversity Foundation (GDF), the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Small Mediterranean Islands Initiative (PIM Initiative), the ‘MedIsWet’ project (Conservation of Mediterranean Islands Wetlands).

The event is a gathering point for botanists, civil society institutions working in the plant conservation field, community members, and for those interested in plant conservation programs or sustainable development projects. It represents an opportunity to develop a framework for dialogue among stakeholders, share successful examples of plant conservation initiatives with local communities and enhance capacity building. The 2nd MPCW will gather different events together, including the annual meeting of the Network of Mediterranean Plant Conservation Centers ‘GENMEDA’, the presentation of the CARE-MEDIFLORA project results, as well as sharing with various other plant and habitat conservation initiatives and approaches.

The week includes sessions on species conservation, methodologies, technical aspects, mapping tools, site based approaches, monitoring and many other interesting topics.

Additional side events include the launch of the Italia Malta Interreg Project SiMaSeed which is a collaboration between Malta and Sicily for the conservation of endangered plants on the two islands, a presentation of the MedIsWet project and presentations by CEPF and IUCN. The week also includes a field trip intended to give an idea of the geology and vegetation of the Maltese Islands, starting from the North East coast and proceeding to the Northwest side of the Island to see a range of geological features, topography and associated vegetation. The field trip will include a visit to the high cliffs of Dingli and the archaeological site of Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim.

Details about the event and the programme are available at http://www.medplantsweek.uicnmed.org/

The main donor for this event is the MAVA Foundation, which is currently supporting several initiatives for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean region.

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