Bizerte Wetlands Museum

The Wetland Museum, is a unique museum dedicated to showcasing the biodiversity and ecological importance of wetlands in Tunisia and the surrounding region. The museum is housed in a traditional fisherman’s house, Ghar el Melah, located in the heart of the wetlands of Bizerte, Tunisia.

The museum features interactive exhibits and displays that highlight the various species of plants and animals that live in the wetlands, as well as the cultural and economic significance of these areas for the local communities. Visitors can learn about the different types of wetlands, such as salt marshes, mangroves, and lagoons, and the role they play in maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

The Wetland Museum Ghar el Melah also offers educational programs and workshops for school groups and local communities, emphasizing the importance of conservation and sustainable use of these areas.

Visitors to the museum can take a guided tour of the wetlands, observing the diverse flora and fauna and learning about the different habitats and ecosystems found in these areas. A visit to the Wetland Museum Ghar el Melah is a must for anyone interested in the environment, conservation, and the cultural heritage of Tunisia.

The Wetland Museum located in Ghar El Melh in the governorate of Bizerte, carried out within the framework of the project “Wetlands in Tunisia: a habitat for man and nature”, was inaugurated on April 25, 2013. Called “Dar El B’hira”, it was lodged near the old port of Ghar El Melh.
Two rooms of the old Ottoman fort (Borj Elloutani built in 1659) house this museum. The first room offers visitors various information on the diversity of Tunisian wetlands in general. When the second room presents information on the lagoon of Ghar El Melh, a site classified under the Ramsar Convention since 2007 and an environment rich in fauna and flora but also in remarkable and unique socio-cultural activities in the region.
The first room of the museum is dedicated to wetlands and their importance for the ecosystem. It includes, as such, explanatory panels on their distribution in the world, the varieties of migratory birds and fish that live there as well as the map of their migratory corridors. This room, which offers the visitor the opportunity to learn about wetlands in Tunisia, even includes a prototype of the irrigation system of the Ibn Chabbat oasis intended to facilitate its popularization with children.
The second room is devoted to Ghar El Melh and the agricultural and fishing activities practiced there as well as the history of the region, a center of corsair activity in the Mediterranean (licit activity in the 15th and 16th centuries. Thus , a very small room has been decorated as a mini pirate ship. The equipment, once functional, should allow visitors, especially children, to have a playful representation (sounds and lights) of the activity on this ship. El Melh also housed the fleet of the Beys of Tunisia, according to the explanations presented.