SAVi for the Restoration of Two Wetland Areas in Sardinia

In June 2020, we completed a SAVi assessment for two wetland areas in the province of Oristano, Sardinia: S’Ena Arrubia and Corru S’Ittiri-Marceddì-San Giovanni. These wetlands are protected under the Ramsar Convention, given their importance as biodiversity reservoirs.

This SAVi assessment addressed the economic, social, and environmental impact and the financial viability of different interventions in and around these wetlands. The interventions are linked to water management, control of the pollution sources in wetland management, and improvement of the conservation status of endangered species and habitats. We simulated the impacts and bankability under different scenarios, including a climate-risk scenario.

The assessment showed some important differences between nature-based infrastructure and built infrastructure. We found that the ecosystem services that can be generated by restoration interventions in these wetland areas could generate EUR 306 million in benefits, starting in 2020 and spanning a 40-year period. Moreover, this gain could be even greater if these wetlands maintain their current quality. Should this latter condition hold, then the gains could increase by EUR 171 million between the years 2020 and 2060. Other important findings include the higher labour income from increased tourism, fisheries, and agriculture; the further benefits from reusing agricultural waste, to the tune of EUR 81.3 million in net benefits in S’Ena Arrubia and EUR 124.2 million in Corru S’Ittiri-Marceddì-San Giovanni.

The full SAVi assessment is available for download from the IISD library.