Wetlands are a hugely important part of the ecological systems and are suffering throughout Europe but they do not get enough media attention. In addition, improving the overall status of the Mediterranean wetlands is one of the top priorities enlisted by the European Nature Restoration Law, since they are key nature-based solutions against the climate crisis.
A
cross-border investigation, stemmed by a project developed within the Climate Arena Fellowship and partially supported by Journalismfund and SISSA School, has shown that little effort is put into effectively preserving and restoring these environments when heavily polluted or degraded.
Involving a team of data scientists, investigations focused on the main wetland near Oristano (Sardinia), where there is a long-standing plan to define up a much-discussed protected area, and the saltmarsh in Cervia (Emilia-Romagna) strongly affected by the disastrous 2023 flooding. Both stories revealed that political and commercial interests prevented the application of effective protective policies, in some cases further damaging the environment.
They used a combination of investigative approaches (data science, AI analysis of satellite imagery and field reporting on the ground) confirmed the poor status of wetlands in these two countries. The project has also served as a pilot to develop a collaborative approach between science and investigative journalists and a group of data scientists based at SISSA post-graduate School in Trieste, Italy.
In this session, two journalists and the data scientists involved in the project will discuss their investigative approaches encompassing data science, satellite journalism and field reporting on the ground to investigate the effectiveness or the lack of efficacy of protective measures.
Their project can be read here: https://facta.eu/focus-on/swampower/
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