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February 2, 2026
World Wetlands Day – Lessons learned from a decade of transdisciplinary cooperation in Ria de Aveiro
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MORONIS ESTUARY – SOUDA, MUNICIPALITY OF CHANIA, CRETE, GREECE
The Moronis estuary consists of the estuarine waters of the Moronis river, a small area of salt marshes, and a marine area with permanent shallow waters. In the past, the whole area of Souda was an extended marshland; the first known human interventions date back to the Venetian period, when part of the wetland was converted into saltpans. In 1872 the saltpans were drained and the area was settled, while pressures continued with drainage, embankments, road building and crop expansions.
In 2010 the wetland was partially restored by the municipality, following a study prepared by WWF Greece. During these restoration actions, more than 10,000 m3 of debris were removed from an area of 0.9 ha. The most significant habitat types based on the EU Habitats Directive classification in the wetland are Estuaries (1130) and Soft substrata without vegetation (119A), while other habitats are Salicornia and other annuals colonizing mud and sand (1310), Mediterranean salt meadows (Juncetalia maritimi) (1410), and Reed thickets (72A0).
