Mauremys rivulata - conservation of the umbrella species of the Mediterranean wetlands in Dubrovnik - Neretva County

Introduction

LIFE for Mauremys is an ambitious 4-year project aiming to improve the unfavourable conservation status of iconic freshwater turtle species, the Balkan Terrapin (Mauremys rivulata), in Croatia.

Project Objectives

The project is designed to address all of the known drivers of M. rivulata decline across five Natura 2000 sites in Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, including all of the known Croatian populations. At the same time, it will conduct an assisted breeding programme to provide much-needed population reinforcement for one of them, which was considered locally extinct until 2019.

Concrete Actions

Our concrete actions include:

• Working closely with the local community on habitat restoration of ponds (35 hectares) and additional wetland habitats across four Natura 2000 sites (2850 hectares).
• Improving habitat quality and connectivity.
• Removing invasive alien species.
• Securing the turtle nesting sites from predators and invasive agricultural practices through collaboration with landowners.
• Developing turtle-friendly fyke-net to address by-catch mortality.

Breeding Programme

We will implement a breeding programme in Zagreb ZOO with the specific objective of producing 40 hatchlings of Mauremys rivulata that will be ready by the project end for soft-release in one of our project areas. This will enable us to save one of the most threatened populations of this species in Croatia from the brink of extinction.

Awareness and Outreach

Additionally, we will provide media attention which we will use to raise awareness about the importance of the Balkan terrapin, biodiversity protection, and the Natura 2000 network.

Expected Outcomes

We believe that the proposed project activities will lead to the expected outcomes thanks to:

1. The comprehensiveness of planned actions.
2. Our plan to work closely with the local community.
3. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral strength of our partnership structure.

Long-term Vision

We see LIFE for Mauremys as the start of long-term success for the conservation of Mauremys rivulata and Mediterranean wetland habitats, starting from Croatia but reaching across its entire range.