The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

A brief history of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Background

The initial call for an international convention on wetlands came in 1962 during a conference which formed part of Project MAR, a programme established in 1960 following concern at the rapidity with which large stretches of marshland and wetlands in Europe were being "reclaimed" or otherwise destroyed, with a resulting decline in numbers of waterfowl.

The MAR Conference was organized by Mr Luc Hoffmann, with the participation of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (now IUCN–The World Conservation Union), the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau, IWRB (now Wetlands International), and the International Council for Bird Preservation, ICBP (now BirdLife International), and was held in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the French Camargue, 12-16 November 1962.

Over the next eight years, a convention text was developed through a series of international and technical meetings (St. Andrews, 1963; Noordwijk, 1966; Morges, 1967; Vienna, 1969; Moscow, 1969; Espoo, 1970), held mainly under the auspices of IWRB, the guidance of Prof. G.V.T. Matthews, and the leadership of the Government of the Netherlands. Initially the envisaged convention was directed specifically at the conservation of waterfowl through the creation of a network of refuges, but as the text developed, especially with the expert advice of legal consultant Mr Cyrille de Klemm, conservation of wetland habitat (rather than species) took prominence.

Adoption of the Convention

Finally, at an international meeting organized by Mr Eskander Firouz, Director of Iran’s Game and Fish Department, and held in the Caspian seaside resort of Ramsar in Iran, the text of the Convention was agreed on 2 February 1971 and signed by the delegates of 18 nations the next day.

The Convention entered into force in December 1975, upon receipt by UNESCO, the Convention Depositary, of the seventh instrument of accession to or ratification of the Convention, which came from Greece. The Convention celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 1996 and now has Contracting Parties from all regions of the world.

Since its adoption, the Ramsar Convention has been modified on two occasions -- by a protocol (a new treaty which amends the original treaty) in December 1982; and by amendments to the original treaty, known as the "Regina Amendments" of 1987.

The Paris Protocol

The Paris Protocol, adding Article 10 bis to the text of the Convention, was adopted at an Extraordinary Conference of the Contracting Parties held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in December 1982. The Protocol, which came into force in 1986, established a procedure for amending the Convention and adopted official versions of the treaty in Arabic, French, English, German, Russian and Spanish. Almost all Contracting Parties have now accepted the Paris Protocol, and new Contracting Parties normally join the Ramsar Convention as amended by the Paris Protocol and the Regina Amendments.

The Regina Amendments

A series of amendments, specifically to Articles 6 and 7, were accepted at an Extraordinary Conference of the Contracting Parties held in Regina, Canada, in 1987. These did not affect the basic substantive principles of the Convention, but related to its operation: powers of the Conference of the Parties, establishment of a Standing Committee, a budget, and a permanent Bureau or secretariat. These amendments came into force on 1 May 1994, although the Parties, in the spirit of Resolution 3.4 from the 1987 meeting, observed the provisions of the amendments on a voluntary basis throughout the interim period.

A Ramsar chronology – key events

2 February 1971
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat is agreed by representatives of 18 nations meeting in the Iranian town of Ramsar, and signed the following day.

January 1974
Australia becomes the first State to deposit an instrument of accession to the Convention.

December 1974
International Conference on the Conservation of Wetlands and Waterfowl is held in Heiligenhafen, Germany, and adopts the first "Criteria to be used in identifying Wetlands of International Importance" as a recommendation; the conference was intended to be the first meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, but an insufficient number of countries had ratified the Convention to bring it into force in time.

21 December 1975
The Ramsar Convention comes into force four months after the seventh nation, Greece, deposits its instrument of accession.

August 1979
Contracting Parties are invited to prepare the first National Reports on the implementation of the Convention in their territories, for presentation to the First Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties.

November 1980
First Meeting of the Conference of Contracting Parties, Cagliari, Italy:

• adopts criteria for identifying wetlands suitable for designation to the List of Wetlands of International Importance;
• approves the elaboration of a protocol (later to become the Paris Protocol) to amend the treaty.

December 1982
A Protocol modifying the original text of the Ramsar Convention is adopted by an Extraordinary Conference of the Contracting Parties at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris.

May 1984
Second Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Groningen, Netherlands:

• establishes the framework for implementing the Convention.

October 1986
Paris Protocol enters into force (after acceptance by two-thirds of the Contracting Parties in 1982).

May-June 1987
Extraordinary Conference of the Contracting Parties adopts the Regina Amendments to Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention.

Third (ordinary) Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Regina, Canada:

• adopts revised criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance;
• adopts guidelines for the implementation of the wise use of wetlands concept;
• establishes the Standing Committee, which meets for the first time;
• approves the establishment of the Ramsar Bureau in two units, one within IUCN headquarters in Gland, Switzerland, and one within IWRB headquarters in Slimbridge, UK;
• establishes formal scientific and technical links with IUCN and IWRB;
• establishes a Wise Use Working Group.

January 1988
The Ramsar Bureau is formally established as the Convention’s permanent secretariat, with Mr Dan Navid (USA) as the first Secretary General.

The Ramsar Advisory Mission (then called the 'Monitoring Procedure', and later the 'Management Guidance Procedure') is established by the Ramsar Standing Committee at its fourth meeting in Costa Rica.

1989
Adoption of the first Ramsar logo (a soaring blue bird of unknown species, trailed by swathes of pastel blue and green)

January 1989
Vietnam becomes the 50th Contracting Party to the Convention.

August 1989
Ramsar publishes its first book, A Legal Analysis of the Adoption of the Implementation of the Convention in Denmark, by V. Koester.

July 1990
Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Montreux, Switzerland:

• approves the framework for the implementation of the Convention;
• develops and adopts revised criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance;
• expands the guidelines for the implementation of the wise use concept;
• consolidates the Ramsar Bureau into a single unit within IUCN headquarters in Gland, Switzerland;
• continues to charge IWRB with responsibility for maintaining the Ramsar Sites Database;
• formalizes the Management Guidance Procedure (later renamed "Ramsar Advisory Mission", 1999);
• establishes the Montreux Record (though not formally known by this name until June 1993);
• establishes the Wetland Conservation Fund (later renamed the "Ramsar Small Grants Fund for Wetland Conservation and Wise Use");
• adopts Spanish as the third working language of the Convention, alongside English and French.

December 1991
First Ramsar Regional Meeting (Asia) takes place in Karachi, Pakistan.

June 1993
Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Kushiro, Japan:

• adopts the Kushiro Statement as the basis for the Contracting Parties’ priorities for the coming triennium;
• establishes the Scientific and Technical Review Panel;
• adopts additional guidance for the implementation of the wise use of wetlands concept;
• adopts management planning guidelines for wetland sites.

June 1993
Publication of The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: Its History and Development, by G.V.T. Matthews.

October 1993
Publication of Towards the Wise Use of Wetlands, the report of the Wise Use Project, edited by T.J. Davis.

December 1993
Lithuania becomes 80th Contracting Party to the Convention.

January 1994
First meeting the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) takes place in association with the IUCN General Assembly in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

May 1994
Regina Amendments to Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention enter into force.

December 1994
Mr James McCuaig, seconded from Environment Canada, serves for six months as Interim Secretary General, replacing Mr Dan Navid.

August 1995
Mr Delmar Blasco (Argentina) becomes the Convention’s second Secretary General.

January 1996
Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the secretariats of the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, the first of many MOUs and MOCs between Ramsar and other MEAs. In subsequent years, Joint Work Plans are developed to increase synergies between the two conventions.

February 1996
The Ramsar Convention’s Web site is inaugurated.

March 1996
Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Brisbane, Australia:

• adopts the Strategic Plan 1997-2002;
• adopts criteria based on fish for identifying wetlands of international importance;
• adopts working definitions of ecological character and guidelines for describing and maintaining the ecological character of listed sites;
• adopts a resolution on Ramsar and water.

October 1996
The Standing Committee formally establishes 2 February as World Wetlands Day.

The Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedWet/Com) is established under Ramsar Bureau auspices, with funding from the European Commission LIFE Programme.

December 1996
Botswana designates the Okavango Delta System (6,864,000 hectares), the world’s largest Ramsar site.

2 February 1997
The first World Wetlands Day is celebrated in about 50 nations and becomes an annual event.

February 1997
Bahamas and Georgia both accede to the Convention on 7 February, becoming the 99th and 100th Contracting Parties.

May 1997
The Ramsar Forum, a public e-mail discussion group issues Ramsar-related issues, is established by the Bureau.

The Ramsar Bureau’s Internship Programme begins with the arrival of the first group of four assistants to the Regional Coordinators.

Ramsar publishes The Economic Valuation of Wetlands in English, French, and Spanish.

October 1997
First three-year phase of the Wetlands for the Future initiative begins by agreement between the Ramsar Bureau, the United States State Department, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service; later renewed.

December 1997
Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention: the role of the Convention on Wetlands in the conservation and wise use of wetlands, edited by A.J. Hails, is published by the Ramsar Bureau.

January 1998
The Evian Project, to assist communications and training activities under the Convention, is established by an agreement signed among the Ramsar Bureau, the Groupe Danone from the private sector, the French GEF, and the Government of France.

October 1998
The Standing Committee adopts the new Ramsar logo (the word Ramsar on a blue-green background with two white lines suggesting waves).

May 1999
Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, San José, Costa Rica:

• adopts a "toolkit" of guidelines on National Wetland Policies, reviewing laws and institutions, river basin management, education and public awareness, international cooperation, and more;
• adopts a Strategic Framework for the development of the Ramsar List;
• revises the system of regional representation under the Convention and reconstitutes the membership of the Standing Committee and STRP;
• confers the first Wetland Conservation Awards upon five recipients;
• formally confirms BirdLife International, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Wetlands International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature as International Organization Partners of the Convention.

July 1999
Honduras designates the Sistema de Humedales de la Zona Sur de Honduras, the Convention’s 1000^th Ramsar site.

September 1999
The Society of Wetland Scientists inaugurates its annual Ramsar Support Framework grants programme.

May 2000
The "Ramsar Toolkit" (the Ramsar Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands) is published in nine pamphlets in a boxed set. A CD-ROM version is published by the United Nations University in September 2002.

February 2001
Inauguration of a joint Web site between Ramsar and UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. A Programme of Joint Work is agreed between the two secretariats in March 2002.

November 2001
The MedWet Coordination Unit is opened in Athens, Greece, a 5-member outposted branch of the Ramsar Bureau, headed by new MedWet Coordinator Spyros Kouvelis and funded by the Government of Greece.

June 2002
Surface area coverage of the world's Wetlands of International Importance surpasses 100 million hectares with the designation of Peru's Abanica del río Pastazo.

November 2002
Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Valencia, Spain:

• adopts further "toolkit" guidance for the Parties, covering allocation and management of water, site management planning, integrated coastal zone management, wetland inventory, under-represented wetland types, wetland restoration, peatlands;
• adopts a new Strategic Plan for the period 2003-2008;
• adopts a new modus operandi for the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP);
• adopts a Communications, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA) programme for 2003-2008, as a successor to the Outreach Programme 1999-2002;
• adopts a revision of the Information Sheet for Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) and explanatory notes;
• confers the second set of Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award to three organizations.

August 2003
Dr Peter Bridgewater (Australia) takes over as the Convention's third Secretary General, succeeding Delmar Blasco.

October 2005
Thirty-eight Ramsar sites are added to the List by Finland, which brings the total number to past the 1,500 mark.

November 2005
Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Kampala, Uganda:

• adopts further guidance for the Parties, covering groundwater management, river basin management, and rapid assessment of wetland biodiversity;
• adopts frameworks for understanding relationships among existing guidance on wise use, water-related issues, and wetland inventory, assessment, and monitoring;
• establishes a Management Working Group, an STRP Oversight Panel, and a CEPA Oversight Panel as functions of the Standing Committee;
• endorses eight regional initiatives within the framework of the Convention and authorizes financial assistance for five of them;
• adopts a new modus operandi for the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP);
• adopts topical Resolutions on fisheries resources, poverty reduction, and avian influenza;
• endorses a fifth member of the Convention's International Organization Partners; and
• confers the third set of Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award to four recipients.

December 2005
Barbados joins the Convention as its 150th Contracting Party.

August-September 2006
Launch of both the Ramsar Technical Reports series and the 3rd edition of the Ramsar Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands, now grown to 17 volumes.

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 19 April 2000, updated 15 January 2007, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.