Tour du Valat and the French Hunting and Wildlife Agency (ONCFS) invited the North African IWC (International Waterbird Census) national coordinators (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) and Wetlands International to meet from the 9th to the 11th of April 2013 to discuss on database tools and synthesis of January 2013 IWC in the region.

The MWN workshop from the previous year in Tunisia

In the framework of the Support Programme for IWC and for the conservation of wetlands in the Mediterranean, a first workshop on IWC in North Africa was held in October 2012 at Tunis (Tunisia), under the supervision of the Association “Les Amis des Oiseaux” (AAO) with the support of the Tour du Valat and the ONCFS (more information at this link). The participants of this workshop decided to implement several actions to improve IWC in this region, such as the joint analyses of the 2013 count data. In order to carry on these efforts, a work meeting was organized in April at the Tour du Valat.

Outcomes of the reunion

Results of 2013 counts in each country and an overview of IWC data in North Africa since the beginning of the programme in 1967 were presented. The participants worked then on a common synthesis for North Africa in a collective scientific publication perspective. They also discussed the tools available to develop national databases, as well as the future of the Support Programme for strengthening national observer networks and regional coordination. The meeting was extremely positive with new agreed objectives according to a common agenda and maintained the good dynamics launched in 2012 for waterbird monitoring in the Mediterranean.

For more informations, download the report of the meeting in English or in Arabic.
Participants in the front of the meeting room ©Tour du Valat
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