Establishing a scientifically valid baseline measure as benchmarking of key biodiversity indicators before initiating restoration efforts in the Venice saltmarshes is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of Vital’s restoration projects. 

Margherita Scapin, researcher and project officer at We are here Venice (WahV), within the context of both the WaterLANDS project (GA. 101036484) and the Vital initiative, has been working with Associate Professor Judith Fisher [1] for the past year to adapt and implement an innovative methodology for benchmaring biodiversity, developed over the past decade in Western Australia and implemented in over 50 locations, across a wide range of ecosystem types. It provides a comprehensive ecological measure of change in relation to the initial baseline situation. Baseline measures provide a reference point that captures the pre-restoration conditions of an ecosystem. This allows for comparison over time, enabling the assessment of changes and the effectiveness of restoration efforts.

Successive repetitions of the ecological survey according to the Fisher methodology provides key information for adjusting or continuing restoration actions, as well as informing strategy for future restoration at other sites, for example to identify where restoration is needed the most and on what kind of parameters (e.g., vegetation species).  

A comprehensive biodiversity monitoring is being conducted in parallel via the Vital initiative and WaterLANDS project at a selection of infill sites and natural salt marshes, in the central lagoon where the restoration efforts are concentrated. Twenty six biodiversity indicators have been determined within the context of changing water levels due to tidal dynamics. 

The emphasis is on functional characteristics of key plant families like Sarcocornia (samphires, glassworts, saltworts) and Spartina (cordgrass) and population dynamics in terms of the percentage cover as well as species recruitment over time to see before and after restoration. In addition, this methodology allows for general habitat assessment because the condition and quality of the demarcated areas are recorded, not just according to plant communities but also in terms of disturbance factors like erosion or litter. Finally, the Fisher methodology not only facilitates species-level assessments but also includes consideration of biotic relationships at a landscape level. Utilizing the same GIS system as the other monitoring and surveying activities, we can use data as well as visual information to understand species interactions, trends and dynamics thereby enhancing our ecological insights.

As deployment of the Fisher methodology progresses, it is due to be accredited under the Accounting for Nature® Standard which is a transparent, affordable, verifiable and certifiable environmental accounting framework to inform investment, policy and management decisions concerning natural capital. The comprehensive nature of the approach in terms of plant communities, functional relationships and trends in habitat quality also provides information relevant to the local communities in terms of livelihoods and cultural values.

Efforts to close the “biodiversity financing gap”[2] via innovative and emerging instruments such as biodiversity credits [3] urgently need to ensure that there is an underlying scientifically valid methodology to measure the baseline state of biodiversity prior to any restoration interventions.

Based on this, Vital has chosen the Fisher methodology for its science backed standard to measure, manage and provide future public and private investors with reliable evidence that the project they are interested in has a solid and comprehensive baseline against which to determine the effectiveness of the restoration project over time. The development and implementation of biodiversity metrics and taxonomies and the incorporation of these into ecosystem accounting are essential to build a stronger economic case for biodiversity conservation and restoration (Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), 2024). 

The application of this methodology in Venice is expected to attract high-integrity nature markets so that funding can flow towards restoration and protection at a landscape-level for the lagoon as a wetland system and benefits are delivered to local ecosystems and communities on the long term, and not based on their exclusion.