No abstract

The Ramsar Convention is the multilateral agreement aimed at protecting wetlands globally. Wetlands are particularly recognized for their role in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot by providing key habitats for endemic and migratory species, directly contributing benefits to the lives of people and being an integral part of their culture. In response to this importance, the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory publishes Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks (MWOs) on the state and trends of Mediterranean wetlands; the first edition in 2012 (MWO1) and the second edition in 2018 (MWO2). In this paper, we used the results of the two Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks to highlight ways to increase the impact of the Ramsar Convention by identifying the spatial dimensions of detected biodiversity trends as well as the societal developments and estimated impacts of global change and protection status.

This chapter aims to achieve a better understanding of the process of evolution faced by, or undertaken by, Lao swidden communities during the period from 1830 to 2000, which led them from mobility to a condition now known as 'sedentarization', or more permanent forms of settlement. Studies conducted in 700 villages in all provinces of the Lao PDR between 1989 and 2000 identified 24 key drivers to explain the mobility of swidden farmers during the period from 1830 to 2000. Official policies began to intervene in the self-initiated mobility decision-making processes of swidden farmers in 1950. Between 1990 and 2000, the impact of centrally conceived policies began to result in high social costs, impoverishment and loss of social and human capital of minority groups engaged in swidden farming.

This chapter describes how swidden farmers in Laos bore the brunt of the implementation of a rural-development model that aimed to stabilize agriculture by grouping and permanently resettling itinerant farmers. The chapter discusses: (i) the rural development policies and programmes from 1975 to 2000, with a focus on shifting cultivation and swidden communities; (ii) the implementation of policies opposed to swidden farming in focal sites in Sayabury and Oudomxay provinces; and (iii) the organization and impact of rural development policy in Oudomxay focal sites between 1994 and 2000.

Cette recherche cible l’élaboration d’un indicateur multicritère des services écosystémiques culturels (SEC) des zones humides méditerranéennes protégées. Basé sur les perceptions sociales des visiteurs, il vise la mesure de l’impact de la visite. Sa structure indicielle est adossée aux approches multi-capitaux. Avec un indice moyen de 0.68 obtenu sur 19 sites méditerranéens, cet impact sur le bien-être est indéniable. L’amélioration de cette valeur passe par un renforcement de l’impact humain des visites. Renforcer les effets de la visite dépend des aménagements proposés sur les sites. En effet, les services naturels et construits dans un écosystème doivent se renforcer mutuellement pour créer des impacts sur le bien-être des visiteurs. À l’échelle des sites, les choix locaux de gestion stratégique et la politique nationale environnementale déterminent le niveau des différents capitaux de l’indicateur.