On World Wetlands Day, attention often turns to what is visible: reed beds, migratory birds, open water shimmering at the coastline. Yet wetlands are sustained by forces that begin far beyond their visible edges. From underground freshwater systems to coastal lagoons and open seas, their health depends on how water moves through landscapes and how people manage them.
Across the Mediterranean, protecting wetlands increasingly means looking upstream.
Under the Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme), a GEF-funded initiative led by UNEP/MAP and structured into nine coordinated Child Projects, countries are strengthening the linkages among groundwater management, coastal ecosystem protection, and climate resilience. Two country experiences that take us to Libya and Tunisia to illustrate how this integrated approach supports biodiversity, water security and long-term coastal stability.
Libya: From Aquifer to Lagoon
Along Libya’s western coastline near the border with Tunisia, Farwa Lagoon stretches as a shallow coastal lagoon edged by salt marsh wetlands. The lagoon supports biodiversity and local livelihoods, while also forming part of the country’s marine protected area network.
What is less visible is the freshwater system beneath it.
Farwa Lagoon lies along the Jifarah Plain, a broad coastal plain in north-western Libya. Beneath this plain lies a coastal aquifer, a natural geological formation of rock and sediment that stores and transmits freshwater underground. This groundwater supports agriculture and settlements inland, including the capital Tripoli. At the same time, it interacts with the Mediterranean shoreline through its submarine groundwater discharges.
Because coastal lagoons sit at the interface between land and sea, changes in groundwater levels and quality within the coastal plain can influence salinity balances and ecological conditions in adjacent wetlands as well as concentrations of pollutants from agriculture in adjacent shallow waters.
Recognising this connection, the MedProgramme supports complementary interventions along the land–sea continuum.
Under Child Project 2.1, “Mediterranean Coastal Zones: Water Security, Climate Resilience and Habitat Protection,” implemented by UNESCO-IHP and GWP-Med in cooperation with national water authorities, work in Libya focuses on the characterisation and management planning of the Jifarah Plain coastal aquifer.
At the same time, under Child Project 3.1, “Management Support and Expansion of Marine Protected Areas in Libya,” implemented by SPA/RAC with national environmental authorities, the Programme supports development of a management plan for the Farwa Lagoon Marine Protected Area. The planning process addresses governance arrangements, stakeholder engagement and conservation priorities for the lagoon and its associated salt marsh wetlands.
A third layer of integration comes through Child Project 1.1, “Reducing Pollution from Harmful Chemicals and Wastes in Mediterranean Hotspots and Measuring Progress through Offshore Monitoring.” Through the Mediterranean Offshore Strategy, 20 pilot offshore monitoring stations have been identified across participating countries. In Libya, one such station has been established offshore from Farwa Lagoon, allowing sediment and water column parameters to be analysed alongside aquifer, submarine groundwater discharges, wetland and biodiversity data.
Together, these interventions reflect a source-to-sea perspective: groundwater governance, wetland conservation and marine monitoring are treated as interconnected components of a single environmental system.
Farwa Lagoon in western Libya, where coastal wetlands reflect the delicate balance between groundwater systems and the Mediterranean Sea
Photo by SPARAC
Tunisia: Wetlands as Natural Coastal Defences
Further west along the Mediterranean coast, Tunisia offers a complementary perspective on why groundwater-dependent wetlands matter.
In January 2026, severe weather affected parts of the central Mediterranean, including Tunisia, bringing intense rainfall and coastal stress to several areas. While such events are part of natural climatic variability, they underscore the exposure of Mediterranean coastlines to extreme weather conditions.
Coastal wetlands, lagoons and dune systems play a recognised role in buffering storm surges and stabilising shorelines. By absorbing wave energy and regulating water flows, intact ecosystems can reduce exposure to coastal erosion and flooding.
Tunisia has maintained a legal framework that protects its public maritime domain, limits construction in sensitive coastal areas, and helps preserve ecological functions. At the same time, the country promotes nature-based solutions, including wetland restoration, dune conservation, and sustainable groundwater management, as part of broader climate adaptation efforts.
“Tunisia is focusing on restoring wetlands and lagoons, sustainably managing groundwater, and preserving the natural dynamics of the coastline, including with the support of the Medprogramme”,
said Kaouthar Ben Houidi from Coastal Protection and Development Agency (APAL), noting that protecting coastal ecosystems is not only an environmental choice, but also a long-term risk reduction and economic security strategy.
“Strengthening legal protections, investing in nature-based solutions, and fostering international cooperation are crucial for preserving these resources for future generations.”
concluded Houidi.
Under Child Project 2.1 of the MedProgramme, Tunisia advances work related to groundwater-dependent coastal ecosystems, strengthening the technical basis for water security and resilience planning. These efforts are supported by international cooperation frameworks, including the Barcelona Convention, particularly through its Integrated Coastal Zone Management Protocol, as well as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said Farwa is potentially the 'most important coastal and marine site in western Libya, in terms of its high marine and coastal biodiversity - AFP
Photo by Asharq Al Awsat
Why Groundwater Matters for Wetlands
Across both Libya and Tunisia, one principle stands out: wetlands depend on freshwater systems that begin underground.
Coastal aquifers regulate the balance between freshwater and seawater in lagoons and wetlands. When groundwater is over-abstracted or degraded, ecological conditions can shift. Conversely, sustainable groundwater management helps maintain the freshwater balance that allows wetlands to function.
Healthy wetlands, in turn, contribute to shoreline stability, water regulation and climate adaptation. They support fisheries and agriculture and provide buffering capacity against coastal hazards.
World Wetlands Day serves as a reminder that these intricate ecosystems are sustained by invisible freshwater flows and coordinated stewardship.
From the aquifers beneath the Jifarah Plain to the lagoons of Tunisia’s coastline, Mediterranean wetlands illustrate a simple but powerful lesson: resilience begins upstream.
By aligning groundwater management, coastal protection and marine monitoring, countries are strengthening biodiversity conservation, water security and long-term environmental resilience across the region.
Wetlands are not isolated landscapes. They are part of a connected continuum, from aquifer to lagoon, and onward to the open sea.
About the project
The Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme): “Enhancing Environmental Security” is a six year (2020–2026) Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded multi-focal area and cross-sectoral initiative implemented in Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye. UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) is the leading executing Agency; the GEF Implementing Agencies are UNEP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the executing partners are UNESCO/IHP, European Investment Bank (EIB), IUCN Med, GWP Med, WWF Med, University of Geneva-GRID Geneva, Plan Bleu, PAP/RAC, SCP/RAC, SPA/RAC and INFO/RAC. The Programme is also supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The MedProgramme operationalises priority actions to reduce major transboundary environmental stresses in coastal areas while strengthening climate resilience and water security and improving the health and livelihoods of coastal populations. Furthermore, it aims to promote sound environmental management that benefits women and men equally, through effective gender mainstreaming.
The MedProgramme is expected to achieve large-scale impacts in four GEF focal areas: International Waters (IW), Chemicals and Waste (CW), Biodiversity (BD), and Climate Change Adaptation (SCCF), with contributions from numerous partners including UN agencies, development banks, MAP Regional Activity Centers, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Regional Centers, national institutions, technical agencies and research institutes, NGOs, and others, under the leadership of UNEP/MAP.
For more information, please contact Lotfi Chraïbi, AMED President at lotfichraibi@gmail.com, and Ivana Popovic, MedProgramme KM and Comms specialist at ivana.popovic@un.org.
Words by Ivana Popovic.
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