The Wetland Contract as a Governance Tool to Manage Conflicts in the Venetian Lagoon

Venice and its Lagoon, a vulnerable UNESCO World Heritage property, requires innovative governance tools to manage its complexity amid intensifying impacts of climate change. The local community has the potential to act as a living laboratory for testing new approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This article examines the participatory process behind the Wetland Contract for the Northern Lagoon of Venice, a government instrument designed to strengthen protection of the lagoon’s wetlands. The initiative brings together diverse stakeholders and local actors who commit to managing, restoring and protecting wetlands in a coordinated manner. The contract aims to balance competing priorities of socioeconomic development and biodiversity conservation.