What's New @ Ramsar

The Ramsar Bulletin Board

3 February 2001

Headline story. Ramsar / Man and the Biosphere joint Web site unveiled. In a press release issued for World Wetlands Day, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, announced the launch of a new joint Web site dedicated to providing accurate information on the world’s wetland sites that are both Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) and Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The new Web site, hosted by MAB and developed by Katarina Vestin and Ivette Fabbri, has brief texts and links to longer texts on each of the 59 sites that are inscribed in both Lists (soon to be joined by the new Ramsar site, Domica, in Slovakia), and it's all been very tastefully designed and clearly set up. This new initiative is part of the rapidly increasing and very fruitful cooperation between Ramsar and MAB, in which a joint work plan is presently under development. UNESCO press release: http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2001/01-15e.shtml . Joint Ramsar-MAB Web site: http://www.unesco.org/mab/ramsarmab.htm . [03/02/01]

Historic firsts. Karen Denyer of Environment Waikato reports on the results of what was probably the very first World Wetlands Day 2001 celebration in the world, a breakfast function in New Zealand that included the presentation of the awards for the Winning Wetlands Competition. Here is her brief report.

Headline story. Algeria names ten new sites for World Wetlands Day. Ramsar's Anada Tiéga and Denis Landenbergue of WWF's Living Waters Campaign are participating in ceremonies in Algiers in which the Government is announcing the designation of ten new Wetlands of International Importance, which were added to the Ramsar List earlier today. These new sites are extremely important additions to the List, as they include an impressive array of under-represented wetland types typical of arid lands, including salt-bed chotts, oases, and "gueltas", totalling more than 1.8 million hectares. The Bureau hasn't yet had time to prepare individual descriptions of these new sites, but they should be ready within the next few days. The Government of Algeria is to be commended for this impressive action, and the Living Waters Campaign must be thanked for its support to Algeria throughout the process of preparing these new sites for designation. [02/02/01]

Headline story. Uganda launches Strategic Plan on WWD. The National Wetlands Programme and high-level members of the Government of Uganda have taken the occasion of their "World Wetlands Week", 29 January to 4 February, to host activities in Kampala, Entebbe, and Lutembe Bay Wetlands including a canoe regatta, fireworks, and craft exhibitions, but most importantly the launching of the Wetlands Sector Strategic Plan 2001-2010 on 1 February. The Convention's Secretary General, Mr Delmar Blasco, addressed the gathering in Kampala, which was presided over by the Minister of Information the Hon. Basoga Nsadhu, and congratulated Uganda for its foresight and world leadership in wetland policy planning and financing methods, and paid tribute to the Government of the Netherlands and IUCN-The World Conservation Union for their support of Uganda's pioneering efforts. The text of Mr Blasco's address is available here, as is his World Wetlands Day address at Lutembe Bay Wetlands. [02/02/01]

Further reading. Press release in the USA. The US State Department has issued an interesting press release for World Wetlands Day, describing the significance of the occasion and the work of the Convention. For the moment, the document is highlighted on the main index page, http://www.state.gov and can be found at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/index.cfm?docid=71 . [02/02/01]

World Wetlands Day greetings. Dr Chris Kalden, President of Wetlands International, writes: "On behalf of the Wetlands International network I would like to convey our congratulations to the Ramsar Convention on its 30th Anniversary and also send our best wishes for World Wetlands Day tomorrow. . . . Wetlands International will continue to support and promote the development and implementation of the Convention and we are pleased to have played a part in the success story."

Headline story. New Ramsar policy to be announced for Wales. Jon Young (jon.young@wales.gsi.gov.uk), Countryside Division, Nature Conservation Branch, National Assembly for Wales, has forwarded very welcome news about a new Ramsar policy for Wales modelled upon the UK's recent Ramsar policy for England. "The National Assembly for Wales will be issuing its Ramsar Policy Statement tomorrow, to coincide with World Wetlands Day. The Policy follows the lines issued by DETR. You may wish to include this in the World Wetlands Day events page on your website. Our Environment Minister will be writing to the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention enclosing a copy of the statement in due course." [02/02/01]

Headline story. Switzerland extends Geneva site for World Wetlands Day. Meinrad Küttel, Ramsar's focal point in the Swiss Government, has notified the Bureau that the Government is extending the Ramsar site formerly known as Rade de Genève to almost double its size and has renamed it "Le Rhône genevois - Vallons de l'Allondon et de La Laire". Here's an announcement prepared by Denis Landenbergue, WWF's Living Waters Campaign: "As a contribution to the 2001 World Wetlands Day and the 30th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, Switzerland, the host country of the Ramsar Bureau, is happy to announce the extension of the Ramsar Site that was designated in 1990 near Geneva. The newly extended site encompasses the port of Geneva, the Rhône from Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) southwestward all the way to the French frontier, as well as the adjacent Allondon and Laire river valleys. This is a step towards a hoped-for transboundary wetland of international importance that could include the Etournel marshes in France." Here is the brief site description in the Annotated Ramsar List. [01/02/01]  [français et/y español]

Boundaries of the Ramsar site within the city of Geneva; the newly extended site continues some 13km to the southwest towards the French frontier; the Ramsar Bureau lies about twice that to the northeast, on the lakeside at Gland.

Who's where?

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Uganda for Ramsar 30th anniversary ceremonies and the launching of Uganda's Wetlands Sector Strategic Plan 2001-2010, 1 to 4 February, and will then be traveling on to Nairobi, Kenya, to participate in meetings of the UNEP Governing Council and chat with the Ramsar Administrative Authority in that country, the Kenya Wildlife Service.  [01/02/01]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Algeria, with Denis Landenbergue of WWF's Living Waters Campaign, to participate in World Wetlands Day ceremonies and celebrate the designation of ten important new arid-land Ramsar sites in that country. [01/02/01]

Who was where? Cumulated record of travels throughout the year.

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New on the Site: Many many new reports of plans for World Wetlands Day, 2 Feb.  In quite a few cases, brief reports of WWD planning include fascinating details about wetland efforts all round the world, some 60 nations so far -- very well worth consulting. For example, here's one recently-added item:

Joint press release: Wetlands events send another wake-up call for world’s fresh water. Gland, Switzerland - "As celebrations surrounding World Wetlands Day commence around the world, WWF, the conservation organization, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands have warned that unless more is done to protect vital wetlands, water shortages will be more severe in at least 60 countries by 2050, and flooding-related disasters could increase substantially." View the rest of it right here (English, français, español). [30/01/01]

Australia names three new sites for World Wetlands Day. On 2 February, the Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP, Federal Member for Murray and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment and Heritage, will attend World Wetlands Day ceremonies at The Wetland Centre, Newcastle, and announce the designation of three new Wetlands of International Importance, as well as extensions of four existing Ramsar sites, in Western Australia. The new sites, effective as of 5 January 2001, are Becher Point Wetlands (677 hectares), Lake Gore (4,017 ha), and Muir-Byenup System (10,631 ha) – the newly extended sites are Ord River floodplain (now 141,453 ha), Peel-Yalgorup system (now 26,530 ha), Toolibin Lake (now 493 ha), and Vasse-Wonnerup system (now 1,115 ha). Here are brief descriptions of all of these welcome new Ramsar sites. [24/01/01]

World Wetlands Day. Australia issues WWD postcard. The Wetlands Unit of Environment Australia has issued a superb new postcard for World Wetlands Day, and you can view it (front and back) here. [19/01/01]

Ramsar seeks applications for MedWet Coordinator. The Ramsar Bureau (secretariat) of the Convention on Wetlands invites applications for the position of Coordinator of the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWet), a position outposted in Athens, Greece, and funded through a contribution from the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works of the Republic of Greece. The position would begin in April 2001 if at all possible, and a full description of duties, requirements, and benefits, with an application form, can be found right here. [since removed] [31/01/01]

Announcement. Wetland training courses at the Tour du Valat Biological Station. This well-known research station in the Camargue Ramsar site in southern France, which serves as one of the three technical units for Ramsar's MedWet Initiative (along with the Greek Wetlands/Biotope Centre in Thessaloniki and SEHUMED in Valencia, Spain), also offers an impressive array of wetland training opportunities, mostly aimed at professionals from Mediterranean countries. Here's a basic description of the programme, and Dr Christian Perennou's the man to ask for the really fine structured details, perennou@tour-du-valat.com, Web site http://www.tour-du-valat.com . [01/02/01]

Edith Wenger receives French environmental honors. Ms Edith Wenger, a political scientist and staff member of WWF-Auen-Institut [WWF’s Floodplains Institute] in Rastatt, Germany (situated in the Upper Rhine floodplain), has been engaged for many years in the fight for a more natural river Loire in France, for the conservation of the Pantanal and its indigeneous people in Brazil, and for many other floodplains, wetlands and natural areas throughout Europe and the world. On 29 January 2001, Ms Wenger was made a "Chevalier de l'Ordre national du mérite" by the French Environment Minister, Ms Dominique Voynet, in Strasbourg, France. [29/01/01]

Crossborder Cooperation between Austria and Czech Republic. "On the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on February 2nd, the Trebon Biosphere Reserve Administration, the town of Trebon (both Czech Republic), the town of Schrems, and the WWF Austria (both Austria) will sign a treaty on cooperation in establishing and running the Ramsar Centre in Schems and the visitor centre "Landscape and man" in Trebon. Within this crossborder area, 3 Ramsar sites are situated, with the river Lainsitz/Luznice forming the backbone of a beautiful wetland landscape with meandering rivers, fishponds and peat bogs. The Ramsar centre in Schrems is planned as a cooperation between nature conservation, environmental conservation, tourism and agriculture. The visitor centre in Trebon is a cooperation between the town of Trebon and several nature conservation organizations, both govemmental and NGO. All four partners of the cooperation treaty consider the crossborder realization of the two centres as one big project that is both a valuable contribution to each one's area but also an important step in the development of bilateral relationships between the two countries. For further information contact: Michaela Bodner, WWF Waldviertel, stuetzpunkt@waldviertel.wwf.at , Mirek Hatie, CHKO Trebonsko, chkot@trebon.cz ". [30/01/01]

Announcement. ECNC seeks Technical Officer. The ECNC secretariat is seeking to recruit a Technical Officer for Data Management on Biodiversity. The Technical officer will be seconded by ECNC to the European Environment Agency's Topic Centre for Nature Protection and Biodiversity (ETC/NPB), which is based in Paris, France, at the French National Natural History Museum. ETC/NPB is developing the nature and biodiversity projects included In the European Environment Agency’s Multi-annual Work Programme. Details here. [link later removed] [31/01/01]

Announcement. Position openings at Prespa. Yvonne Tsorogouni writes "The Society for the Protection of Prespa wishes to employ university graduates with a degree in environmental studies (e.g. biology, ecology, forestry, agronomy etc.). Persons with a general university degree and who have experience in environmental issues will also be considered. Positions available are for the management of the wetland ecosystem, ecological research on birds, fresh water fish, environmental education, eco-tourism and agro environmental research. Prerequisites: A minimum of two years experience, good knowledge of the English language. Interested applicants should send their resume before February 28^th 2001 to the address below: Society for the Protection of Prespa, Agios Germanos Prespa, 53077 Agios Germanos. Tel/Fax. ++3 385 51211. E-mail: spp@line.gr." (The positions are not limited to Greek nationals.) [30/01/01]

Slovak Republic designates subterranean karst system. The Ramsar Bureau is very happy to announce that the Slovak Republic has designated its 12^th Ramsar site, to be dated from 2 February 2001 "as a contribution of the Slovak Republic to the World Wetlands Day". Domica (622 hectares, 48°29’N 020°28’E) comprises sub-surface wetlands (types Zk(b) and Ts, permanent subterranean streams, lakes, wetlands with diverse subterranean fauna), discovered in 1926; it is part of the 25km-long Domica-Baradla Cave System (a planned crossborder Ramsar site), the largest subterranean hydrological system of the plateau karst shared by Slovakia and Hungary, in the natural functioning of which it plays a substantial hydrological, biological, and ecological role (Criterion 1). The site has special value for a large number of endemic and rare plant and animal species (Criterion 2), especially subterranean hydrobionts. The cave system has important tourism functions, with guided tours by boat and foot, electric lighting, and a visitors’ centre, and a signposted transborder nature trail surrounds the area on the surface. The cave also has very significant archeological remains of Paleolithic and Neolithic occupancy. The site is also a Protected Landscape Area, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (1977), World Heritage site (1995), Important Bird Area, and National Nature Monument. [26/01/01] [français et/y español]

See also: new photos of another subterranean karst wetland, Slovenia's Škocjanske jame (Skocjan Caves)

St. Lucia set to form a National Wetlands Committee. Consistent with the Ramsar COP's Recommendation 5.7, Lyndon John, Research Officer with the Forestry Department in Castries, St. Lucia, reports that the Permanent Secretary has approved the formation of a National Wetland Committee, which it is intended should be launched on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2001, preparatory to planning for accession to the Ramsar Convention. [27/01/01]

Colombia designates Laguna de la Cocha. The Bureau is delighted to announce that Colombia has designated as its second Ramsar site, effective 8 January 2001, Laguna de la Cocha (39,000 hectares, 01°03’N 077°12’W), located in the Department of Nariño, close to its capital city Pasto. The new site is largely made up of a volcanic lake and the surrounding highland Andean peatlands and forest. The lake and its surrounding area support a diverse range of associated flora and fauna, mammals such as the endangered tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), near-threatened Northern pudu (Pudu mephistotels), and the endangered spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Important bird species such as Grebe (Podiceps occidentalis), the golden peck duck (Anas georgica spicauda), several species of snipes (Gallinago gallinago paraguaiae, Gallinago nobilis, Gallinago gallinago delicata) and the endemic ducks (Anas cyanoptera borreroi, Oxyura jamaicensis ferruginea). Regarding plants there are two important endemic species of frailejon (Espeletia cochensis, Espeletia schultesiana) and Totora (Scirpus californicus, Juncus bogotensis). Human uses include agriculture and aquaculture. The breeding of "cuyes" (Cavia porcelus) generates about 23% of the agricultural product in the Department. The site also has an important cultural value as the indigenous groups of the area, which consider it sacred, use it for purification and fertility. The archaeological values of the site are also considerable, as it that was inhabited by Precolombian communities. [25/01/01]

UK extends far northern site in Scotland. The Bureau is happy to announce that the UK has significantly increased the area included within the "Caithness Lochs" Ramsar site in Scotland (58º29’N 003º20’W), first designated with 241 hectares on World Wetlands Day 1998, now extended to 1378 hectares. A suite of six lochs and a mire in the extreme north of mainland Scotland, the lochs cover a range of types from oligotrophic to eutrophic and support a wide diversity of aquatic and wetland vegetation including submerged and floating aquatic communities and species-rich marginal, fen and swamp communities. In winter these lochs support internationally important wintering populations of whooper swan (Icelandic), Greenland white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris, 420 individuals, representing 1.4% of the population),and greylag goose (Icelandic). Human activities include fishing, permanent pastoral agriculture, and hunting. Ramsar site no. 928. [22/01/01] [français et/y español]

Wetlands and waterbird meetings in Bahrain, January 2001. On 16 and 17 January, an Arab States Outreach Conference was organized by Wetlands International, in connection with the development of a request to GEF for funding of the "African-Eurasian Waterbird Flyways" project; the project aims to identify actions required to implement the Ramsar Convention and the CMS/African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) throughout the flyway from the Arctic to South Africa. Read a brief report of this gathering, and the Middle East Regional Meeting of BirdLife International held a fews before, prepared by Michael Smart. [22/1/01]

IUCN's Netherlands Committee announces wetlands assistance programme. The Netherlands Committee for IUCN has announced a new Small Grants for Wetlands Programme (SWP), which can financially support projects in the conservation and wise use of wetlands that are executed by small NGOs in some 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Here you will find Esther Blom's posted message to the Ramsar Forum, announcing the new initiative, as well as an explanatory letter from Henri Roggeri about the programme and the general terms of reference. The materials are in English, but French, Spanish, and Portuguese versions will soon be available on the Web site of the IUCN Netherlands Committee, http://www.wetlands.nl .Application forms should be requested from Esther Blom (esther.blom@nciucn.nl). [18/1/01]

Landfill planned for Awase tidal flats. Dr Satoshi Kobayashi, formerly Technical Officer for the Ramsar Bureau, now a wetland conservationist in Hokkaido, Japan, relates sad news to the Ramsar Forum about the Awase tidal flats on Okinawa, Japan. Here it is. [19/01/01]

Feature Info. The Ramsar Interns - where are they now? With "moles" in WWF, UNEP, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as deep into the workings of several national administrations, the Ramsar Internship Programme, begun in 1997, has already extended its tentacles out all round the globe, spreading Ramsar values wherever they can be spread. Here's a brief list of "where they are now". (Right: Maryse Mahy, Canada, intern and later Ramsar document specialist at COP7) [18/01/01]

BirdLife International seeks Projects Manager. BirdLife International - a global partnership of non-government organisations working to conserve the world's birds - is "looking to" recruit an experienced manager for site-based conservation projects in the developing world, to work at the Secretariat to the NGO federation. View this posting to the Ramsar Forum. [link later removed] [19/01/01]

US National Ramsar Committee announces Small Grants awards. Seven U.S. Ramsar sites – from Connecticut to California – received small grants averaging US$ 1500 in the first round of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee’s Small Grants Program, financed by the Committee with matching funds from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Judith Taggart of the Terrene Institute announces the winning projects on behalf of the Committee. [17/1/01]

Announcement. Symposium on high altitude wetlands set for March 2001. On 26-27 March, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention and the 40th anniversary of the World Wide Fund for Nature, a symposium on "Eaux vivantes d'altitude", high altitude wetlands, will take place in Evian, France, sponsored by WWF's Living Waters Campaign and Ramsar, in the context of the Convention's Evian Project funded by the private-sector Danone Group. [17/1/01]

STRP unveils draft Web resource on wetland restoration for comment. Dr Bill Streever, until recently with the US Army Corps of Engineers and now with BP in Alaska, USA, representing the Society of Wetland Scientists on the Ramsar Convention's subsidiary body for scientific advice, writes: "Wetlanders: The Ramsar Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (the STRP) recently completed a draft Web site on wetland restoration. We (the STRP) believe that the restoration mini-site is ready for external review, although we know that it will need some refinement and we hope to add more case studies and other information. If you have some knowledge of wetland restoration, or if you have an interest in wetland restoration, please take a few minutes to have a look at the site. All comments are welcome. Case studies to help populate the "Approaches to wetland restoration" section of the site (especially case studies from outside the US and Australia) are especially welcome. Please return your comments, case studies, or other information to bstreever@aol.com. The address for the page is http://ramsar.org/strp_rest_index.htm. Many thanks to all of you who have already contributed information to the Ramsar restoration page, and many thanks to Dwight Peck of the Ramsar Bureau for his help and patience. Sincerely, Bill Streever, Bstreever@aol.com". [11/1/01]

Recent Ramsar Interns at WWF. Recent Ramsar Intern/Assistant for the European Region Alexander Belokurov has accepted a position as Programme Officer for the Forests for Life Campaign of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), based in Gland, Switzerland. He will be responsible for the management of the forest Gifts to the Earth. Sasha has begun his new work while still in Moscow, discussing forest issues with Russian partners, and will move back to Gland after attending the Global Forest Advisory Group meeting in Bali. At WWF International headquarters, he will be joining another recent Ramsar Intern, Ms Musonda Mumba, Freshwater Programme Officer. [12/1/01]

Photo essay. Lago Titicaca (Bolivia and Peru). View new photos of the world's highest navigable freshwater lake, especially the improbable traditional reed fishing boats and the even more improbable villages built upon floating islands of totora reed. Photos by Marlowe Tyson Peck, November 2000. (Left: Young villager on a reed island) [11/1/01]

Announcement. Wetland habitat creation specialist sought for assignment to Hong Kong. Nathalie Stevenson (njstevenson@ecoscope.co.uk or njstevenson@clara.co.uk ), Senior Consultant at Ecoscope Applied Ecologists, has posted a call for applications to the Ramsar Forum for a wetland habitat creation position for Hong Kong, to begin in about April 2001. View her announcement here. [11/1/01]

Ducks Unlimited announces symposium for USA. The 8th International Waterfowl and Wetlands Symposium: The Waterfowl Legacy: Links to Watershed Health, sponsored by Ducks Unlimited, will be held in Washington D. C., July 20 through 22, 2001, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Experts from around the world will gather at the symposium to share their research findings and their opinions on a range of issues affecting waterfowl, wetlands, and their management. Session topics include Watershed Health and Waterfowl, North American Waterfowl Management Plan Checkup, The Future of Waterfowl, and Beyond North America. Join in the discussion of the important issues facing the management and protection of these valuable resources. For more information, contact Brenda Carlson, Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, Tennessee 38120, (901) 758-3707, bcarlson@ducks.org  or visit http://www.ducks.org/conservation/symposium_2001.asp . [10/1/01]

Web stats report. Recent statistics from WebTrends show that this Web site is presently visited by an average of 1174 users per day, each remaining on the site for 15:19 minutes. Some 3615 of our Web pages are viewed on an average day, or more than 112,000 pages during the period 20 November to 20 December. Tuesdays have been our most active days of the week (especially between 4 and 5 p.m.), and predictably Saturdays have not been overwhelming the servers, probably because people are out having fun instead. The Ramsar site presently contains 3205 text files (2905 HTML, 164 Microsoft Word, 121 Adobe PDF, etc.), and 1468 images (mostly of our photogenic Secretary General, Standing Committee, and radiant staff). WebTrends reports that the Keyword most often used in search engines to find us has been . . . "Ramsar", followed by "wetlands". Few surprises there. [9/1/01]

Other news. Pantanal gets funding credits. "The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved an $82.5 million credit to boost protection of the Brazilian Pantanal, one of the world's largest wetlands. To be matched with local funds, the $165 million conservation effort is to be carried out by the Brazilian Environment Ministry and the country's Environment and Natural Resources Institute (Ibama)." -- from EcoAméricas (Fourth Street Press), December 2000, p. 2. [9/1/01]

Announcement. Small Grants Fund deadline put back by a month. The deadline for project proposals for the next round of SGF assistance has been deferred from the usual 31 March to 30 April 2001. [07/01/01]

Focus on Comité Ecológico del Litoral. The Comité Ecológico del Litoral is a not-for-profit environmental foundation that has been active in Ecuador for the past 12 years, with a range of activities that merit emulation in other parts of the world. High on CEL's agenda has been achieving protected area status for the Isla Santay, "an oasis of nature" amid adjacent industrial centers, which was designated as a Wetland of International Importance effective 31 October 2000. On 12 December 2000, the e-mail news list "Late Friday News", sponsored by the Mangrove Action Project, published a brief feature on the CEL's work, and here is a reprint of that article. [7/1/01]

Ramsar in action

A collector's item: The Ramsar Regional Coordinator for Africa on mission - Garoua airport, Cameroon, 2000 (Photo: Denis Landenbergue, WWF Living Waters Campaign)

First results of the Caribbean Training Workshop. As part of the Wetlands for the Future initiative, this past December 11th to the 15th the Ramsar/SPAW Caribbean Training Workshop successfully took place at the Normandie Hotel in Trinidad. With an attendance of over 30 participants from 20 Caribbean nations and territories, the workshop served as an introduction to the Ramsar Convention in the region, a research mission on wetland-related needs in the Caribbean, and an opportunity for some training of local professionals on several wetland management issues. All the technical sessions and working groups were very well-chaired by representatives of Parties to the Convention in the Caribbean. Margarita Astrálaga (Regional Coordinator for the Americas) and Marco A. Flores (Assistant for the Americas Region) represented the Ramsar Bureau at this event, co-organized with Dr. Herb Raffaele of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Sheriff Faizool and Nadra Nathai-Gyan, and her excellent support team, from the Trinidad Ministry of Agriculture, Land, and Marine Resources. The workshop summary is presently in preparation, but photos are already available here. [5/1/01]

Colombia adopts policy for coastal zones. Fabian Navarrete Le Bas, Coordinador Ecosistemas Acuáticos in the Ministerio del Medio Ambiente in Colombia, reports that on 5 December 2000 the Consejo Nacional Ambiental approved the "Política Nacional Ambiental para el Desarrollo Sostenible del los Espacios Oceánicos y Zonas Costeras e Insulares de Colombia" (National Environmental Policy for the Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coastal Areas and Islands of Colombia). The Bureau has received a Microsoft Word version of this Spanish-language document and would be pleased to forward it by e-mail attachment to all interested parties. Make your request to . [4/1/01]

New Year's greetings. The staff of the Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands wish all of their friends and collaborators around the world a healthy and productive new year. [1/1/01]

UK designates another site in the Western Isles. The Bureau is delighted to announce that the UK has designated as its 161st Ramsar site, effective 22 December, Lewis Peatlands (58,984 hectares, 58°15’N 006°35’W). The new site is largely made up of a near-continuous mantle of blanket bog (a significant proportion of the total world resource), liberally dotted with small pools and lochans. In the southern part, the peatland is more broken with outcrops of rocks of Lewisian gneiss and lochans, forming a distinctive "knock and lochan" landscape and including the largest freshwater nutrient-poor lochs of south central Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles. The vast expanse of this relatively undisturbed peatland supports a diverse range of associated flora and fauna, including 31% of the world population of dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii). The hyper-oceanic, extremely humid upper boreal bioclimatic zone predominates to an extent found nowhere else in Scotland. Human uses include low-density sheep and red deer grazing, sport shooting and angling, and low-level recreational use of "quad bikes" and other all-terrain vehicles. (Above: Hiker south of Stornoway, adjacent to Lewis Peatlands Ramsar site. ) [28/12/00]   [français et/y español]

'Wetland Values and Functions' info pack now available. As part of the Ramsar Convention’s contribution to World Wetlands Day 2001, the Bureau has prepared an information pack, in English, French, and Spanish versions, consisting of ten fact sheets on the values and functions of wetlands. Individual single-page front-and-back two-color fact sheets cover the basic ideas, and wherever possible assign monetary values, in order to help demonstrate the importance of wetlands in the most fundamental economic and cost-benefit terms. Topics covered include: Flood Control, Groundwater Replenishment, Shoreline Stabilisation & Storm Protection, Sediment & Nutrient Retention and Export, Climate Change Mitigation, Water Purification, Reservoirs of Biodiversity, Wetland Products, Recreation/ Tourism, and Cultural Value. Get more detail and ordering information here. [19/12/00]  FOLLOW-UP HEADLINE: The entire Wetland Values and Functions info pack is now also available in English, French, and Spanish in reprint form on this Web site, courtesy of Ms Sandra Hails. Just kick your boots up on your brocaded footstool, lean back in a relaxed manner with a cigar or whatever, and click here to get started. [21/12/00]

Ramsar exhibit replicated on posters. The justly-famous "Ramsar Exhibit" was unveiled in May 2000 to deafening applause and has already stunned crowds of passersby in large venues in Nairobi, Québec City, Tokyo, Amman, and Bonn. Now, on the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2001 and the 30^th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Ramsar Bureau has come to the aid of all those Friends of Wetlands yearning for their own Ramsar Exhibits and has developed a poster exhibit which reproduces in a relatively low-cost manner that very same magnificent original.  Like its parent, the Ramsar Poster Exhibit was designed by Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland and funded by the communications segment of the Evian Project, financed for the Ramsar Convention by the private-sector Danone Group and the French GEF. Get more detail and ordering information here. [19/12/00]

Ramsar 30th Anniversary poster is ready in time for World Wetlands Day 2001. 2 February 2001 is the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in the city of Ramsar, Iran, and a new poster has been developed to commemorate the Convention's work in alleviating the worst effects of the continuing loss of wetland values and functions around the world. This sobering outreach item is guaranteed to cast a long shadow over any festive occasion and invite earnest inquiries about what we can do to reverse present trends -- it's available in reasonable quantities in the three Ramsar languages, and more details are available here. [16/12/00]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions are welcome to: the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Updated regularly by Dwight Peck, Ramsar Bureau.

Back Issues of the Bulletin Board. Early in every month, the current edition of the Bulletin Board is copied to the Ramsar Archives page, and you can dig through the back issues there -- their contents are still indexed on the Global Index page in perpetuity.

visitors to this site since........ Wait . . . . . . . ? . . . . . . ??  Oooh, I must have dropped it.