What's
New @ Ramsar What's
New @ Ramsar
2
January 2005
Headline story. Secretary General's New Year's message. Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Convention, looks back at 2004 and sketches out the challenges awaiting the Ramsar Convention in 2005. Here. [31/12/04]
Vacancy
announcement. IUCN seeks Water Programme Coordinator
for Med Centre. The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation
in Malaga, Spain, is seeking a new staff member with immediate effect to
assist in setting up and implementing the emerging IUCN programme for the Mediterranean
region. This challenging staff position arises as IUCN establishes itself in
the pleasant working environment of the Parque Tecnologico near Malaga, Spain.
The IUCN Malaga Office is supported financially by the Ministry of Environment,
Madrid, and the Consejeria de Medio Ambiente (Andalucia). The Water Programme
Coordinator will be responsible for developing and implementing a programme
of work at Mediterranean regional level to meet the strategic goals defined
for the programme. This will be done in partnership with other organisations,
particularly working closely with the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan, the Ramsar
Convention and MedWet, the Global Water Partnership, the international network
of river basin organisations and IUCN members. Here is the announcement.
[link later removed] [23/12/04]
Yesterday's News!
Announcement.
Freshwater symposium set for American Museum of Natural
History. The symposium "New Currents in Conserving Freshwater
Systems" will take place in New York City on 7-8 April 2005, sponsored
by the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation,
in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
and National Park Service. Major funding is provided by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Additional support is provided by the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, The Nature Conservancy, and the
American Fisheries Society. The meeting will provide "a forum for scientists
and conservation practitioners to highlight recent successful initiatives in
freshwater conservation, to discuss cutting-edge ideas and tools, and to investigate
how and where these innovations might be implemented on the ground". More
information can be found here. [22/12/04]
Headline
story. Evian
Encounter 2004 reaffirms developing an Himalayan Regional Initiative.
The Evian Encounters are an important component
of the Ramsar Evian project financed by the Groupe
Danone, owner of the Evian Mineral Waters 
Society.
They are designed to bring together high-level officials of the Convention's
Contracting Parties, along with the Convention's NGO International Organization
Partners and other relevant international organizations, in order to discuss
in an informal atmosphere the current approaches and challenges in the implementation
of the Ramsar Convention. The Evian Encounter for the
Himalaya-Hindu Kush-Pamir-Allay region and the Mekong River basin countries,
the fifth in the series since 1998, was held in Evian, France, 1-6 November
2004, and after fruitful exchanges, the consensus amongst the countries of the
region on the need for a regional Himalayan wetlands initiative was re-affirmed.
The participants agreed that further development of the 
Initiative
should be focused on developing a regional strategy for delivery of the common
vision; the geographical and altitudinal (high altitude and downstream) scope
and focus; identification of additional key objectives to those developed by
the Sanya workshop; development of a "Himalayan
Initiative Framework Agreement", simplifying coordination and
governance structures, and the next steps towards Ramsar COP9, including priorities
for project development for initiating implementation. The participants of the
Evian Encounter 2004 wish to express their gratitude to the Danone Group and
the Evian Water Company and their staff for their support through the Danone/Ramsar
project which permitted the holding of the Encounter. The
detailed report of the meeting, with a lot of photographs, can be seen here.
[21/12/04]
Reminder
for Parties. Deadline for National Reports. In
diplomatic notifications of 22 April, the Ramsar Secretariat passed on the news
that the Parties' National Reports for COP9 will be due by 28 February 2005,
and stressed that it is important that the Parties meet that deadline so that
the staff can complete its analyses of the status of implementation for circulation
to the Parties with the agenda papers in advance of COP9. The National Report
Forms were earlier distributed to the Administrative Authorities but can be
requested from the Secretariat (ramsar@ramsar.org) or downloaded from the Ramsar
Web site in English, Français,
or Español. [21/12/04]
Uruguay
designates its second Ramsar site along the Uruguay river.
Twenty years after acceding to the Convention and designating the Bañados
del Este and Franja Costera as its first Ramsar Site, Uruguay has renewed its
commitment to the Convention and made a big step by adding a second site to
the List of Wetlands of International Importance: the Esteros
de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay. The site is due to be
incorporated soon in the National Protected Area System. Currently, the Ministry
of Housing, Land Development and Environment is elaborating a 
management
plan for the site. The Information Sheet was compiled by the Ministry of Livestock,
Agriculture and Fisheries. Iván Darío
Valencia of the Secretariat has prepared this
description of the site in both English and Spanish, festooned with
maps and exemplary illustrations as well. [19/12/04]
Uruguay designa su segundo sitio Ramsar en el Río Uruguay. 20 años después de acceder a la Convención y designar a los humedales Bañados del Este y Franja Costera como sitio Ramsar, Uruguay ha renovado su compromiso con la Convención y dado un gran paso al incorporar su segundo humedal a la Lista de Humedales de Importancia Internacional: los Esteros de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay. Se espera que el sitio se incorpore pronto al Sistema Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas. Actualmente, el Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente se encuentra elaborando un plan de manejo para el sitio. La Ficha fue compilada por el Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca.
Seychelles
becomes 144th Ramsar Party. On 22 November 2004 Seychelles
deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO its instrument of accession to
the Convention on Wetlands, as amended by the Paris Protocol (1982) and Regina
Amendments (1987), and the Convention will enter into force for this small group
of islands off the eastern coast of Africa on 22 March 2005. Seychelles' first
Ramsar site is the "Port Launay Coastal Wetlands"
(Port Glaud Wetlands), 29 hectares in Port Glaud District, one of the best mangrove
wetlands on Mahé, the main island, supporting all seven species of mangrove
in the region. The Convention's Senior Advisor for Africa, Mr Abou Bamba,
says that "the coastal areas of Seychelles are among the most beautiful
and productive in the world" and he pointed to Seychelles' process towards
accession as "one of the best examples of 
Ramsar
cooperation among the Secretariat, the national authorities, and international
and local NGOs" -- the WWF Global Freshwater
Programme, WWF Madagascar, and
Switzerland through the Ramsar Swiss Grant
for Africa have been instrumental in helping Seychelles to prepare for accession
and to compile the necessary data for this and other potential Ramsar sites.
Here is Abou Bamba's brief illustrated
report on the new site. [17/12/04] 
Jamaica's
new stamps feature Ramsar sites.
Here's a hot story that was meant to be posted here on What's
New @ Ramsar in early November: "In
celebration of World Environment Day this year, the
Government of Jamaica, with the assistance of the National Environment
& Planning Agency (NEPA, the Ramsar Administrative Authority), launched
a series of stamps to celebrate the beauty and diversity of Jamaica's coastal
wetlands. Two of the stamps featured Parottee and Salt Spring Ponds, both wetlands
that are part of the Black River Lower Morasss, a 5,700-hectare Ramsar site
made up of both inland freshwater and mangrove ecosystems." So wrote Sandra
Hails to the Ramsar CEPA List on 2 November, and the illustrated
story can be seen on the CEPA Programme's
corner of our Web site.
But let that be a lesson to
you -- fireworks are happening on the CEPA site even as we
speak, and to be sure of getting all of the best Ramsar news, you should also
consult regularly the CEPA news pages,
and the most adventurous amongst you will also consider subscribing to the CEPA
e-mail list. [17/12/04]
Myanmar
joins the Ramsar Convention. The Ramsar Secretariat is very pleased
to announce that Myanmar has deposited its
instrument of accession with the Director-General of UNESCO as of 17 November
2004, and thus the Convention, as amended in 1982 and 1987, will enter into
force for Myanmar on 17 March 2005. The new Party's first Wetland of International
Importance is "Moyingyi Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary"
(256 ha, 17°33'N 096°37'E), a state-owned area in Southern Bago comprising
floodplain and a storage reservoir that is important for flood control. Some
15 villages with about 14,000 inhabitants are located in the surrounding area
and depend upon the wetland for traditional fishing and water supply for paddy
fields. A number of vulnerable and near-threatened bird species are supported.
The Wild Bird Society of Japan has been assisting Myanmar's Nature and Wildlife
Conservation Division with capacity building and research studies, and Japan's
Ministry of Environment has worked with the Forest Department in inventorying
the country's wetlands and preparing management plans.
The Secretariat warmly welcomes Myanmar to the community of Ramsar nations. As of today, the Convention's 143 Contracting Parties have designated 1399 wetlands for the Ramsar List, covering 122,828,174 hectares. [16/12/04]
Wetland
Training Seminars in the Czech Republic. The Wetland
Training Centre, operating as part of the non-governmental organisation
ENKI in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic,
has launched a new programme of training seminars dealing with wetland conservation
and managment. The first of a series of training seminars aimed at national,
regional and local administration offices responsible for nature conservation
in the Czech Republic, "Wetlands and Their Role in Landscape Functioning",
took place 5-7 October 2004 in the Trebon Basin Protected Landscape Area and
Biosphere Reserve. The second seminar of the programme will take place in May
2005, and the seminars are structured so as to enhance the implementation of
Ramsar Convention in the Czech Republic as well as ensure wetland conservation
according to Czech legislation. Martina Eiseltová,
ENKI, and Libuse Vlasakova, Ministry of
Environment, have contributed this
brief illustrated report. [15/12/04]
Chile
designates large tidal flat in Tierra del Fuego. Bahía
Lomas (58,946 hectares, 52º38'S 069º10'W) becomes the next
to southernmost site in the world after the neighbouring Reserva Costa Atlantica
de Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. The designation is the first legal measure
of protection granted to the site, which is expected to be nominated as a Western
Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve shortly. The site features the largest intertidal
flats in Chile, fronting a 69 km long beach and several salt marshes. The bay
is renowned for its high concentrations of migratory shorebirds from October
to March. Here is further detail,
prepared by Ramsar's Iván Darío Valencia, and some photos.
[13/12/04] 
Chile designa extensa planicie intermareal en Tierra del Fuego. Bahía Lomas se convierte en el segundo sitio Ramsar más meridional del mundo después de la vecina Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego en Argentina. La designación es la primera medida legal de protección otorgada al sitio, el cual espera ser nominado como Reserva Hemisférica de Aves Playeras en el futuro cercano. El sitio tiene las planicies intermareales más amplias de Chile, extendiéndose frente a una playa de 69 km de largo y varios pantanos salinos. La bahía es reputada por sus altas concentraciones de aves playeras migratorias de octubre a marzo. Aquí.
Follow-up
story. Secretary General meets with Stetson moot court winning team.
Following his service as one of the three judges in the Stetson University
College of Law's Ninth Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition,
Saturday, 29-30 October 2004, in the state of Florida, USA [reported
here], the Secretary General interrupted his home leave and called in
on the winning team and their faculty at the University
of Technology in Sydney,
Australia. Here's a brief report.
[14/12/04]
Staff
news. New Intern for the Americas chosen for
Ramsar Secretariat. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that Adrián
Ruiz-Carvajal from Mexico
has been selected as the next Intern/Assistant Advisor for the Americas region,
to replace Iván Darío Valencia from Colombia. Adrián graduated
as a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering from the Universidad de las Américas
in Puebla, Mexico. He followed this up with a post-graduate course in Environmental
Law and Natural Resources (Mexico) and a two-year MBA in International Management
of Natural Resources from the Technische Universität-Bergakademie in Freiberg,
Germany. Adrián has work experience with Greenpeace Mexico and the UN
Environment Statistics Division in New York, and hopes to work in an international
environmental organization in the future. The Ramsar Secretariat looks forward
to welcoming Adrián in February 2005. [13/12/04]
Asian
Wetlands Week to start early in China, December 2004. Ramsar
Center Japan is pleased to announce that 2005 Asian
Wetlands Week (AWW) campaign will inaugurate on 24 December 2004
taking an opportunity of the "Children and Teacher Wetland Exchange Program
of China/Korea/Japan" on 24-28 December 2004 in Dafeng, a Ramsar site in
the lower basin of Yantze River in China. A total of 22 school children and
teachers from Korea and Japan will visit China, exchange experiences and ideas
on wetland conservation with Chinese children and teachers, and discuss future
opportunities of international cooperation in wetland conservation. The Children
and Teacher Wetland Exchange Program of China/Korea/Japan in Dafeng
is the third meeting of this kind, as the first occasion was held in Yatsu-higata
Ramsar site in Japan in 2003, and the second one 
was
held in Woopo Wetlands Ramsar site in Korea in 2004. AWW
is a campaign activity initiated by Ramsar Center Japan
with support of the Japan Fund for Global Environment
since 2002 to enhance awareness of wetlands especially targeting children to
pay more attention and get knowledge about the value and importance of wetland
and its ecosystems. The actual AWW starts from the World Wetlands Day (2nd February)
which is observed from 2nd to 8th February. Ms Reiko
Nakamura, Secretary General of the RCJ, has contributed this report
and further details, some photos of last year's events, and images of the new
handout.
[08/12/04]
Czech
Republic designates cave complex for the Ramsar List.
The Secretariat is pleased to report that the Administrative Authority in the
Czech Republic, the Ministry of the Environment, has nominated "Punkva
subterranean stream (Podzemní Punkva)" (1,571 hectares,
49°25´N 016°44'E) for the List of Wetlands of International Importance,
as of 18 March 2004. The site is already a Protected Landscape Area and Nature
Reserve, as well as a well-known tourist wonder in South Moravian region. The
Czech Republic now has added 11 Ramsar sites since the country joined the Convention
in 1990 as part of Czechoslovakia, and then succeeded to Czechoslovakia as the
Czech Republic on the first of January 1993. Ramsar's
Estelle Gironnet has prepared this brief site description
of the site, based upon the Ramsar Information Sheet submitted with
the designation instrument.[07/12/04]
Regional
Ramsar Center for the Western Hemisphere holds management training course.
Del 12 al 20 de noviembre del 2004, tras la III Reunión Regional Panamericana
Ramsar, el Centro Regional Ramsar (CREHO) realizó en Mérida, México
el curso "Entrenamiento en Manejo de Humedales - Formulación de
Planes de Manejo", el cual contó con la participación de
14 países. El curso estuvo dirigido a fortalecer la capacidad técnica
de funcionarios que a nivel institucional tienen a su cargo el manejo de humedales
en sus respectivos países. Màs,
fotos y Reunión
de Junta Directiva.
[07/12/04]
From November 12 to 20 2004, in Merida, Mexico, after the III Panamerican Regional Ramsar Meeting, the Regional Ramsar Center CREHO hosted the course: "Training in Wetland Management - Formulating Management Plans", with the participation of 14 countries. The aim of the course was to strengthen the technical capacity of technical officers in charge of wetland managements in their countries. Further details and photos and the Regional Centre Board meeting. [07/12/04]
Announcement.
Final call for papers for Asian Wetland Symposium 2005. Ms Reiko
Nakamura, Secretary General of the Ramsar Center Japan (reiko.nakamura@nifty.com)
writes: "Please be reminded that the deadline of paper submission for Asian
Wetland Symposium 2005 : 
Innovative
Approaches to Sustainable Livelihood (6-9 February 2005, Bhubaneswar
and Chilika, India) is coming soon on 10 December 2004. The participants wishing
to present papers are encouraged to submit a full manuscript with abstract by
the above date. All papers will be reviewed by AWS2005 Technical Committee,
which reserves the right to make the final decision on all papers, and the result
will be informed to respective authors by end of December 2004. The participants
from developing countries who need financial support also required to submit
a full manuscript with abstract no later than 10 December 2004. Further information
is available from the website www.aws2005.com [link
later removed]or,
please contact to AWS Secretariat (ajitpattnaik@hotmail.com or ramsarcj.nakamura@nifty.ne.jp)."
[07/12/04]
Hungary
and Slovak Republic list transboundary Ramsar site on Tisza River.
At the opening session of the 5th
Ramsar European Meeting in Yerevan, 4 December 2004, representatives
of Hungary and the Slovak Republic will announce their joint designation of
portions of the Tisza (Tisa) River as a transboundary
Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The Tisza is the largest
tributary of the Danube, with a catchment area 1.5 times bigger than the area
of Hungary, and the upper reaches of the river are 400 kilometers long and pass
through four countries. Hungarian Deputy State Secretary László
Haraszthy wrote "The nomination of Felsö-Tisza as a new transboundary
wetland of international importance is in the framework of joint action in the
Upper Tisza region. It is a bilateral Ramsar Site proposal prepared together
with Slovakia. We hope that this effective and fruitful cooperation between
Slovakia and Hungary in the field of nature conservation will be appreciated
by the international community". Hungary's Felsö-Tisza
(Upper Tisza) and the Slovak Republic's Tisa
River join the Ramsar List as of 4 December, and site
descriptions and photographs can be seen here. A
second new Hungarian designation, Csongrád-Bokrosi
Sós-tó, is described separately. [04/12/04]
5th
Ramsar European regional meeting gets underway. As of press time,
significant numbers of prospective participants and Ramsar staff are fogbound
in London Heathrow, but anyway others have evidently got through to Yerevan,
Armenia, and the 5th European Regional Meeting
on the implementation and effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention
should be getting underway on schedule on 4 December, running through to the
8th. The Secretariat is being represented by Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary
General, Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, and his assistant,
Estelle Gironnet, and Sandra Hails, Ramsar CEPA Programme Officer.
"How best to implement the Convention? Are we doing enough? Are our approaches
still adapted to new pressures of an evolving situation in Europe and the World?
Where can we do better? What are our constraints? How to overcome them? Where
does the Ramsar Convention stand at the beginning of the 21st century? How to
interact with our partners and other stakeholders?" -- these are some of
the Aims of the Meeting,
and many of the papers and presentations that will be read and discussed during
the sessions can be previewed
here in PDF format. [04/12/04]
Belgium
and Luxembourg designate a common transboundary Ramsar site.
The Sûre
is a transboundary river that originates in Belgium and, after a 31 kilometer
course, forms a natural border of 12km with Luxembourg before crossing that
country and joining the Moselle in Germany. As is frequently true in similar
situations, the effective management of this wetland requires a regular dialogue
between national and regional authorities to reconcile the objectives of nature
conservation, water quality improvement, and economic and social development.
Most of the Sûre valley site lies within Nature Parks that were created
by Luxembourg in 1999 and Belgium in 2001, and a joint management committee
is composed of local representatives and staff from the government ministries
directly involved. Now the Ramsar Administrative Authorities in both Parties
have jointly submitted the Vallée de la Haute-Sûre
site as a transboundary Wetland of International Importance. In addition,
Belgium has also designated, as of the same submission date of 24 March 2003,
a further two Ramsar sites in the Province of Liège, namely the Grotte
des Émotions, a newly-discovered subterranean karst system,
and the Hautes Fagnes, a site rich in peatlands.
Ramsar's Assistant Advisor for Europe, Ms Estelle Gironnet,
has distilled brief descriptions from the Ramsar Information Sheet data submitted
by the Parties, well-illustrated by some very interesting photographs. Vallée
de la Haute-SûreGrotte
des Émotions and Haute Fagnes [03/12/04].
Ramsar
staff news. New Assistant Advisor for Asia.
The Secretariat is pleased to welcome our new Intern/Assistant
Advisor for Asia, Ms
Shahzia Mohsin Khan from
Bangladesh, who joined us this
week and is presently undergoing a handover training period with her predecessor
Ms Liazzat Rabbiosi. Shahzia comes to us
most recently from the IUCN Bangladesh office, where she had responsibility
for project development for wetlands, implementing a trade and environment project
on sustainable shrimp industry, and coordinating IUCN membership and commissions
in Bangladesh. She has also worked on local community management issues in the
Tanguar Haor Ramsar site, and on indicators and early warning systems for the
Sunderbans wetlands. She has a degree in environmental sciences from the North
South University, Dhaka. [03/12/04]
Secretary
General pays visits to Lao PDR, Australia. In the course of his late
November travels, which have included the IUCN World Conservation Congress in
Thailand and a visit to a Ramsar/Evian
project in Cambodia, the
Secretary General, Peter Bridgewater, has also been able to stop in to discuss
accession progress in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and to discuss scenarios
of the Convention's future development with the members of Australia's Wetlands
and Waterbirds Taskforce. Here are very brief illustrated reports
on both of those events: Lao PDR,
Australia. [02/12/04]
Samoa
joins the Ramsar Convention. The Secretariat is extremely pleased
to announce that UNESCO, the treaty depositary, has received the instrument
of accession from Samoa, and the Convention,
as amended by the Paris Protocol (1982) and the Regina Amendments (1987), will
enter into force for Samoa, as our 142nd Contracting Party, on 6 February 2005.
The first Wetland of International Importance designated by Samoa is the "Lake
Lanoto'o", the largest freshwater lake in the country amongst
few remaining still in pristine natural form. It is located in the central highlands
of the Island of Upolu and forms the core part of the watershed area for the
township of Apia, the capital of Samoa. The site apparently comprises two other
small lakes as well, rainforests of native hardwood tree species and secondary
forests of shrubs and other vegetation, but Ramsar datasheets on the site have
not yet been received, and more information will follow later. Ramsar's Assistant
Advisor for Asia-Pacific, Ms Liazzat
Rabbiosi, notes that the Secretariat would particularly like to acknowledge
the support offered by Bill Phillips (Mainstream) and
the WWF Global Freshwater Programme, whose
assistance has been extremely helpful in moving the accession process forward.
Mr Vainuupo Jungblut, the Ramsar Officer
in the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) in Apia,
adds: "A big Congratulations to Faumuina Pati LIU and his staff
at the Samoa Division of Environment & Conservation of the Ministry of Natural
Resources & Environment for their hard work and effort." Samoa joins
Papua New Guinea, Palau, and (newly) the Marshall Islands (with Australia and
New Zealand) in carrying the objectives of the Ramsar Convention forward in
the Pacific Islands region. [01/12/04].
Vacancy
announcement. IWMI seeks a Capacity Building Officer.
Kamani Rajanayake, Personnel Officer,
International Water Management Institute, writes: "We are pleased
to share with you the attached position announcement for the post of Capacity
Building Officer in the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) based
at the CPWF Secretariat, located at IWMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka or with one of
the partner institutions of the CPWF. This is an international staff position
and will be on two-year, fixed-term, renewable appointment. Applications with
details of qualifications, experience, list of publications, and the names and
addresses of three referees, should be submitted to the Human Resources office,
IWMI, P.O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Email: work-at-iwmi@cgiar.org on or
before 31 January 2005. For information
about the CPWF visit http://www.waterforfood.org
and for information about IWMI visit http://www.iwmi.org."
Here is the position description in PDF format.[link
later removed] [01/12/04]
Ramsar's
NGO partners re-affirm their hopes and commitments. The four most
senior officers of Ramsar's International Organization Partners met on Friday
in Bangkok, during the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress, to reiterate their
support to the Ramsar Convention. During a brief meeting, Achim Steiner,
Director General of IUCN - The World Conservation Union; Claude Martin,
Director General of the World Wide Fund for Nature - WWF International; Mike
Rands, Director and Chief Executive of BirdLife International; and Jane
Madgwick, Director General of Wetlands International, signed the new Memoranda
of Understanding with Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar
Convention. More
here, with pix. [30/11/04]
New
Intern for Europe chosen for Ramsar Secretariat. The Secretariat
is pleased to announce that Dorothea August from
Germany has been selected as the next Intern/Assistant Advisor for Europe, replacing
Estelle Gironnet from France (well,
that's a "hard act to follow").
Dorothea graduated as an Engineer in Land-use Planning, landscape conservation,
nature protection and environmental development from the University of Hanover,
Germany. Her dissertation subject was the conservation status of the European
Mink, a species that is found in wetland habitats. Growing up in Eastern Germany,
Dorothea was aware of wetland degradation in her home region, and this inspired
her to strive for a career in the field of nature protection. The
Ramsar Secretariat looks forward to welcoming Dorothea in February 2005 and
laments with gnashing of teeth our Estelle's 'graduation' from the Bureau at
about the same time. [30/11/04]
Tunisia
plans 15 new Ramsar sites. Denis Landenbergue (WWF) reports that
"the Tunisian Government has just officially announced its commitment to
designate at least 15 new Ramsar Sites, covering a total area of over 750,000
hectares. The announcement was made as a result of a project supported by WWF's
Global Freshwater Programme, and implemented in the framework of a close cooperation
between WWF's Mediterreanean Programme Office and Tunis Project Office, the
Direction Générale des Forêts of Tunisia, the Institut National
Agronomique
of University of Tunis, and non-governmental organisations including the Association
des Amis des Oiseaux (AAO) - Birdlife National Partner in Tunisia. Mr. Mike
Smart, former Ramsar Deputy Secretary General and a recognized specialist
of Tunisia's wetlands, has also been providing valuable expertise and support
to this commendable initiative of the Government of Tunisia. The official announcement
was made by Mr. Amol El Abed, Tunisia's Secretary of State for Water
Resources and Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources) as part
of his Opening Speech for the eleventh Pan-African Ornithological Congress (PAOC
XI) currently taking place in Djerba, Tunisia (21th-25th November 2004)."
See also, http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater/news/news.cfm?uNewsID=16731.
[30/11/04]
Sad
news.
Passing of Tom Kabii, WWF and former Ramsar colleague.
The staff of the Ramsar Secretariat are deeply saddened by the news of the death
of our friend and colleague Tom Kabii in a road accident in Kenya. Here is a
brief message from Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Director, Africa and Madagascar
Programme, WWF International. "Dear Friends and Colleagues, It is with
deep sorrow that I announce the death of my dear friend and colleague, Tom Kabii.
Tom was driving himself yesterday, Sunday, to the Mara for the EARPO Policy
workshop which was due to start this morning. . . . I have known Tom since 1996
when he worked for the Ramsar Secretariat. He was a most pleasant and caring
person and we became good friends. He left Ramsar to go and do his PhD in Australia,
and two years ago when he finished his PhD, I persuaded him to come and work
for WWF in Kenya. He readily agreed, saying, 'nature conservation is where my
heart is and to be able to do something for my own country is a most welcome
opportunity'. Tom has lost his life while serving a cause he really believed
in. The Africa and Madagascar Programme has lost a most committed, dedicated,
enthusiastic and great advocate for conservation. May his soul rest in perfect
peace." [29/11/04]
Now
available. More on the Merida regional
meeting, and pix. Following the first tangible results of Ramsar
Panamerican regional meeting earlier this month, the draft "Merida Message"
(see below), Iván Valencia has prepared a brief report and a slender
list of photographs of some of the participants and the Red Mangroves of the
recently designated Ramsar Site "Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún".
Conference
on transboundary Ramsar sites. Many Wetlands of International Importance
are located in border zones of adjoining countries. Despite their obvious transboundary
connectivity, these shared wetlands are often not perceived and treated as ecological
and hydrological units. This poses major challenges to wetland conservation,
not only in terms of habitat management, regional planning and decision making.
In order to explore these issues, an international conference was held in mid-November
2004 in Illmitz, Austria, in the Austrian-Hungarian transboundary park and Ramsar
site Neusiedl/Fertö, where some 50 participants from all over Europe gathered
to bring further clarity to the emerging issue of transboundary Ramsar management
- an ideal preparation for the workshop on "shared catchments and wetlands
- increasing transboundary cooperation" to be held as part of the European
Ramsar Meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, on 5 December 2004. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé
reports on the conference and includes the official meeting summary and a number
of interesting photographs of the venue and participants, right
here. [27/11/04]
Austria
names peatland areas in Styria. The Ramsar Secretariat is delighted
to announce that Austria, just a few months after having designated a number
of valuable mires in the Salzburg region, has named, as of 15 October
2004, a small collection of bogs, mires and fens in the Steiermark region in
the southeast. The Moore am Nassköhr
site (211 hectares, 47°43'N 15°33'E), already a Nature Reserve, comprises
a number of mires that are all near-natural except for one bog, the Torfstichmoor,
which had been used as a peat cut in the 19th century; the others, however,
have been more or less affected by cattle grazing and trampling. In a joint
project with the landowners, the Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf-AG), the
Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology of Vienna University (IECB), and
WWF-Austria initiated a management plan financed by the ÖBf-AG in order
to improve the conditions for the peatlands. This is an outstanding example
of private nature conservation activities in Austria. In spring 2002 the ÖBf-AG
built dams into all drainage channels and in autumn - after long-lasting negotiations
with the farmers - they began building a fence to keep the cattle out from most
of the mires. A brief description
of the site, with some photos of both the site and the presentation of Ramsar
site certificates by the Austrian Ramsar National Committee, can be seen here.
[26/11/04]
Ramsar
Asia meeting set for India, February 2005. The Ramsar Secretariat
is pleased to announce that the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India
has offered to host the Ramsar COP9 Preparatory Regional
Meeting for Asia (including Western, Central, Southern and Eastern
Asia) in Bhubaneswar, India, from 9 to 12 February
2005, which will follow immediately after the
Asian Wetland Symposium 2005 (AWS). This meeting should provide
opportunities for wider participation of governmental officials, NGOs, academia
and civil society members in both AWS and the Ramsar Asian Regional Meeting.
The Government of India has set a common organising committee for both events,
and official invitations will be soon sent by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests of India. For further inquires on the meeting, please contact: Dr. Kaul
at Kaul52@yahoo.com tel/fax: +91 11 2436 0492 and Dr. Lei, Ramsar Secretariat
at lei@ramsar.org or tel: +41 22 999 0170. [25/11/04]
Standing
Committee - change of dates and venue. The Ramsar Standing Committee
Subgroups on COP9 and Finance will be meeting one week later than foreseen,
and the venue has been changed to the Secretariat facilities in Gland, Switzerland.
The Subgroup on COP9 will now be meeting 7-9 March
2005, and the Subgroup on Finance on the 10th. (The next full Standing
Committee meeting remains scheduled for 6-10 June 2005 in Gland.) [25/11/04]
Montpellier
workshop on francophone African wetlands. On behalf of the French
Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, ATEN
(the Atelier Technique des Espaces Naturelles) is organizing a "Journées
de rencontres" workshop on wetland management for Montpellier, France,
29 November to 4 December 2004. Partners in developing the meeting are the
Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Wetlands International, the Office national de
la chasse et de la faune sauvage, La Station Biologique du Tour du Valat, and
the Centre de Recherche des etudes Agronomiques des Régions Chaudes,
and the subject will be "Préparation des dispositifs de formation
des gestionnaires de zones humides de 5 pays d'Afrique francophone". Representatives
of five African French-speaking countries, Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal
and Madagascar, will participate in the sessions, which are intended to strengthen
institutional cooperation among actors; update the diagnosis of needs and resources;
establish a work plan for the construction of training mechanisms; and define
a strategy of financing of conservation actions. The Ramsar Senior Advisor,
Abou Bamba, will make a presentation on Ramsar recommendations and Strategic
Plan 2003-2008 related to training and capacity building, and his assistant,
Ahmed El-Sabban, will present the Ramsar Handbooks series. More information
at http://www.zhaf.espaces-naturels.fr/accueil/#partenaires.
[25/11/04]
Now
available. 3rd Pan-American Ramsar meeting's
"Merida message". The pre-COP9 regional meeting for North,
Central, and South America and the Caribbean area took place 7-12 November 2004
in Mérida, Mexico, and one of the tangible results of the sessions was
agreement upon a regional workplan for the period leading up to the COP in 2005,
embodied in a resolution called the "Merida
Message" (Mensaje
de Mérida). The draft versions, not for citation, are now available
in both English and Español. [23/11/04]
Ramsar
and Danone promote safe access to water in Cambodia. For
more than 10 years, hydrogeologist Pierre Gubri
has been digging wells in the villages of the Banteay Srei province, first from
his own efforts and then with the help of the Ramsar Convention and the DANONE/Evian
Fund, and a total of 34 wells and water pumps have been built in three communes
and eight villages. The project has been funded by the Ramsar Convention, through
the 
DANONE/Evian
Fund for the year 2004, with the aim of raising local communities'
awareness of the wise use of water and the conservation of wetlands - through
the establishment of a "safe" water system. It reflects the broader
water vision the Ramsar Convention is now developing. In the next few years,
with the continuation of the DANONE/Evian Fund, Ramsar will maintain its support
to this project and almost certainly develop similar projects. On 17 November
2004, a delegation from the Ramsar Convention and the DANONE Group went to the
villages of Banteay Srei for the official ceremony celebrating the end of the
first phase of the project and the finalization of the first 34 wells - Sebastià
Semene Guitart provides the story. [22/11/04]
Ramsar
news from the World Conservation Congress. IUCN's World Conservation
Congress is presently underway in Bangkok, Thailand, with some 5000 participants
and a nearly uncountable number of workshops, presentations, and business meetings.
Here Ramsar's Sebastià Semene
Guitart supplies a brief report of Ramsar's participation over the first
few days of the meetings, including a lively session of the Global Synthesis
Workshop on "Wetlands, water, health and livelihoods", chaired by
Ramsar Standing Committee member Paul Mafabi, Uganda Wetlands Inspection
Division, and sponsored by IUCN's Water and Nature Initiative, Ramsar, International
Water Management Institute, and a sponsored workshop on "Managing water
resources from the Ramsar Convention", chaired by Secretary General Peter
Bridgewater and featuring speakers from Mexico, Cambodia, and the United
States, as well as from Danone Group. [22/11/04]
Feedback and suggestions
are welcome to: the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28,
CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail
).
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.