Three protected areas in Tunisia: the Chikly Island, the Ickheul National Park and the Boukornine National Park, were the last pilot actions developed within the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism project (MEET).

Thanks to the partnership convention between the Direction Général des Forêts of Tunisia and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, the project allowed the implementation of different actions such as the drafting of an ecotourism integrated strategy as well as two eco-tours, in addition to the improvement of the facilities for tourists of these three Protected Areas (PAs).

The MEET Pilot actions were a strong step ahead to ensure that sustainable tourism can be a feasible and environmentally friendly option within these three PAs. 

Chikly island
A plan of ecotourism in the Chikly Island to properly receive and to minimize tourist impact was developed. The paths and stairs to the Island were rehabilitated and informative and interpretation panels were designed and installed in the most visited areas.

Chikly Island is a natural lagoon located between Tunis and the Mediterranean Sea. The lake covers a total of 37 square kilometers. The northern part of the lake includes the small island of Chikly of only 3.5 hectares, a Spanish fort and a former Roman citadel. Since 1993, this small island has been declared a nature reserve and a national cultural heritage. The islet has never been officially opened for tourism.

Ickheul National Park
Ickheul National Park offers exceptional possibilities for the development of ecotourism due to its natural setting and to its ornithological diversity. These characteristics have turned the Ickheul into a home to a variety of interventions aimed at boosting ecotourism and sustainable development in the area.

Thanks to the MEET Pilot actions, an inventory of the ecotourism potential of the area was developed and an ecotourism integrated strategy for the territory has been agreed on and defined in collaboration with the local community. Moreover, to make sure tourists were properly received and to minimize their impact, the Eco-museum was rehabilitated, garbage bins and benches have been installed in the area and informative and interpretation panels designed and installed in the most touristic areas.

Boukornine National Park
The Boukornine National Park is a small park with an interesting ecotourism potential, due to its proximity to the country's capital (around 20km south of Tunis) and to the presence of endangered flora and fauna like the Persian cyclamen and the Mountain gazelle. This National park contains many hiking trails leading to various caves, the Bou Kornine Mount, the Aïn Zargua springs and a small museum. The park is underfunded and faces many conservation issues associated with visitors' behavior.

The MEET Pilot actions have implemented a visitors' management plan for the proper management of the area, including a section on Boukornine.

In line with the actions developed in Ichkeul, the bathrooms and the conference rooms of the Eco-museum in Boukornine were rehabilitated and informative and interpretation panels were designed and installed in the most touristic areas as well. The area around Ain Zarghua spring was also equipped.

Finally, two eco-tours involving the three areas were designed and tested, despite the difficult sociopolitical situation of the country.

About the Meet project
The MEET project supported 25 protected areas in the Mediterranean region in their sustainable tourism development and in the improvement of their ecotourism offers. This project was funded by the European Union (ENPI-CBC Mediterranean Programme 2007-2013). Its aims were to improve the cooperation between Mediterranean Protected Areas in the sustainable tourism field and to develop an integrated strategy in order to set an eco-tourism development model for the Mediterranean region. The project was led by Federparchi (Italy), and IUCN-Med is a partner in the consortium, in charge of the coordination of the MEET Network and the pilot actions in Tunisia.

For more information: Carla Danelutti

Photo credits: Boukornin National Park - © IUCN-Med