The
Ramsar Archives 
2
March 1998
Headline Story: Wetlands International - South Asia. Wetlands International - Asia
Pacific, based in Kuala Lumpur, has established a branch office for South Asia centered in
New Delhi, with Dr. C. L. Trisal as Coordinator. Dr Trisal, formerly with India's
administrative authority for the Convention, has long expertise in the implementation of
the Ramsar Convention and is already at work on a number of Ramsar-related projects.
His lengthy fax dated 20 February is unfortunately unscannable, but we will reprint
the announcement as soon as we receive an e-mail version of the text. [2/3/98]
Embarrassed
semi-headline story: Server briefly down, it could happen to you, too. About 63 readers dialed into this Web site on Sunday, 1 March (that
includes myself, frantically checking) and got just about nothing, zip, just a promise of
some cool pages soon and a hit counter. IUCN's ISP, iProlink in Geneva, was porting
the entire site to a new server machine and evidently got the order of steps a little
wrong, so for a while the URL alias was hitting a brick wall. Sorry about that, it
won't happen again, heh heh heh. [2/3/98]
Another Old Headline Story, but nonetheless still
important: European Internship vacancy
in the Bureau. The Bureau is seeking to
replace Maryse Mahy, who completes her one-year posting plus an extension. Here are the terms of reference; the position is open as of 1
August 1998, and applications are due before 31 March. [18/2/98]
Small news note, not exactly a headline. Economic Valuation of Wetlands, sayonara? It's painful to report this, but the
popular Ramsar book The Economic Valuation of Wetlands has
officially gone out of print in the English version (unless you want to pay for it! -- the
IUCN Publication Services Unit in Cambridge, UK, is still hoarding a few copies). We're
hoping to talk the Secretary General into reprinting it, so nil desperandum!!!
Update to follow. The French and Spanish versions of the book are still holding on
fine. [2/3/98]
Who's Where . . .
The Secretary General, Delmar Blasco, is visiting Tokyo on 26 and 27 February for discussions with the Government of Japan concerning the implementation of the Convention in the country and the support of the Japanese Government for Ramsar work in other parts of the world. Meetings will include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Environment Agency, and JICA, Japanese International Cooperation Agency. From 28 February to 2 March, he will be visiting Kushiro, including participation during two days in an international workshop to review progress in a project been implemented by IUCN and other NGOs (including the Kushiro International Wetland Centre) to undertake case studies on community involvement in wetland management. The output of the project should be a series of guidelines on this matter that will be submitted to the next meeting of the Ramsar Conference of the Parties for discussion and eventual approval.
New
on the Site: Most of the 1993 book Towards
the Wise Use of Wetlands [Ramsar Library]; "Ramsar and the
Global Water Crisis" paper, in three languages [see index frame to the
left]; Volume I, Africa, of the 1993 Directory of Wetlands
[see the Ramsar Libary]; Brief report on the
Southern African Subregional Meeting; French text and English translation
of the Evian Project memorandum of understanding,
with photos. [25/2/98]
Coming Soon: thoroughly revised About Ramsar material to conform with our popular new series of background Ramsar Information Papers; the 1996 Directory update [thanks, Scott, for e-mailing the texts].
New
Slovakian Ramsar sites.
The Bureau has received completed
Ramsar Information Sheets, maps and other supporting documentation for 5 new
Ramsar sites in the Slovak Republic, namely: Orava River and its Tributaries
(865 ha), Poiplie (410.8 ha), Rudava River Valley (560 ha), Turiec Wetlands
(466.8 ha), Wetlands of the Orava Basin (9,264 ha). This brings the total number
of Slovak Ramsar sites to 12. Brief descriptions
of these sites are available here. [24/2/98]
Ramsar
and the global water crisis. In
preparation for the 6th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
(20 April - 1 May 1998), the Government of France will host a high level Conference
on Water and Sustainable Development from 19-21 March 1998 in Paris. The Bureau
has prepared an invited paper for consideration at that conference -- it argues,
among other things, that a global recognition of the vital functions and services
provided by wetlands, and a commitment from governments to halt all actions
resulting in the further destruction of wetlands, should be a recommendation
from this meeting. The text prepared by the Bureau is now being sent to
the Administrative Authorities in order to allow for consideration of its recommendations
by the delegations that will participate at the Paris Conference and the 6th
Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York. It is hoped
that these delegations will support the recommendations it contains to further
the work of the Convention on Wetlands. Persuade yourself as well: here's
the text of that paper (English,
French, Spanish).
(25/2/98)
Wetland
Conservation Award brochures. The
Bureau has received the A4 single-fold Wetland Conservation Award brochures
from the printers, in English, French, and Spanish, and encourages everyone
who may have a likely candidate in mind or who may simply wish to help promote
the Award among their friends and acquaintances to let us send them some.
Please specify the language and number of copies required to Valerie Higgins
of the Ramsar Bureau (vph@hq.iucn.org). The
text of the brochure is already available on this Web site. [23/2/98]
Dr Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu. The Bureau is delighted
to forward the following news from WWF concerning Dr Ntiamoa-Baidu, Chairperson of
Ramsar's Scientific and Technical Review Panel: "Professor Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu has
been recruited as the Regional Director for the WWF Africa & Madagascar programme. Yaa
has over 20 years experience in wildlife conservation in diverse areas including species
protection and NGO institution building. She has most recently (and is currently)
Associate Professor and Head of the Zoology Department at the University of Ghana as well
as Executive Director of the Ghana Wildlife Society. Yaa will be joining WWF staff
at the Education Workshop in Lagos, and the Africa/ Madagascar Subcommittee meeting in
Ibadan, before taking up the post in June 1998." [9/2/98]
"Hot
Topic" no. 1 bounds into view. The
Bureau promised on World Wetlands Day to visit upon the world a new succession
of issues to fret about. Ramsar "Hot Topics" will propose a
wetland-related question every few months and solicit YOUR
help in tracking down the best current science on the subject -- not crass and
doctrinaire opinions, not tearful cautionary anecdotes, not economic sanctions
imposed upon those who don't agree with you, but rather your summaries and assessments
of, and bibliographic references to, the current state of good science on the
topic, whether pro or con. The Bureau's Deputy Secretary General has
been Deputized to assess your input and produce a report on each of these topics
in a timely fashion, which will be, in an unofficial way, the Convention's statement
on that issue at the present time. The first "Hot Topic" is
Canal Estates: read the more ample description
here and make some sort of contribution, however feeble, to Dr.
Bill Phillips, at ramsar@hq.iucn.org. And thanks for your help.
[12/2/98]
North
East Asian Crane Site Network web site. Simba
Chan (simba.chan@earthling.net) reports the following new Web site: http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~birdinfo/BL_news/cranenet.html.
The North East Asian Crane Site Network was launched at the International
Workshop on Wetlands and Waterbird Conservation in North-east Asia, Beidaihe,
China, in March 1997. It is an action under the "Brisbane Initiative"
launched at the 6th COP in Brisbane, Australia (1996) which calls
for the establishment of a network of Ramsar-listed and other wetlands of international
importance for migratory shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway,
managed to maintain their suitability for migratory shorebirds. Other networks
under the same initiative are: the Shorebird Reserve Network - launched in March
1996 and the Anatidae (Ducks and Geese) Network - to be launched in 1999. [12/2/98]
Management
Planning Guidelines -- your input is required.
The Bureau is seeking your help -- if you have firsthand knowledge and experience
of developing or implementing management plans for Ramsar or other wetland sites,
help the Bureau and the Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP)
revise and improve the Ramsar Management Planning Guidelines by completing and
returning the questionnaire so conveniently posted here for you, in English,
French, and Spanish
versions. [7/2/98]
Nice
book published on Nepalese Ramsar site. The bible of
the sport, an excellent new book on the Koshi Tappu Wetlands in Nepal ("Nepal's
Ramsar Site"), by Jay Prakash Sah, has just been published by IUCN -- 254 pages, it's
got everything you could ever ask about Koshi Tappu, which was the subject of a Ramsar
Small Grants Fund allocation a few years ago. The book is available from the IUCN
Country Office, P.O. Box 3923, Jawalakhel, Kathmandu, Nepal or the IUCN Southeast Asia
Regional Coordination Office, Asian Institute of Technology, P. O. Box 4, Klong Luang
12120, Thailand, snap it up! [12/2/98]
World Wetlands
Day. The big news right now, of
course, is World Wetlands Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands on 2 February 1971. We have a list of national and local activities slated
for WWD in nearly 50 countries, and this includes only the plans reported to the Bureau --
just the tip of the iceberg (not an inapt metaphor in the northern countries these
days). And the Bureau celebrated WWD by launching a number of new initiatives,
including the Wetland Experts Database, the Wise Use Resource
Centre, the Evian Project, and the Wetland Conservation
Award. Find out more about all of these things by backing out of these
frames and punching the button next to the blinking red WWD entries on our home page.
[3/2/98]
France
names 18th Ramsar site. The French Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has announced the designation of the Baie de Somme,
on the coast of the Picardie Region in northeast France, as its 18th
Ramsar site. The site covers 17,000 ha and includes the largest-remaining natural
estuary of the northwest European coastline between the Baie du Mont Saint Michel
(already a Ramsar site) to the west and the Netherlands to the east. Amongst
the mosaique of habitats which make up the site are extensive intertidal sand
and mud flats and salt-marsh. Part of the site (3,000 ha) was designated as
a Natural Reserve in 1994. Human activities include extensive sheep grazing,
shell-fish harvesting, hunting (outside of the Natural Reserve), tourism, and
traditional fishing. More than 100,000 people visit the ornithological park
at 'Marquenterre' each year. Most of the surrounding area is used for livestock
rearing. The Baie de Somme qualifies for Ramsar listing under many of the Convention
criteria (1a,1b,2a,2b,2c,2d,3b,3c), but is most well-documented in relation
to its international importance for migratory water birds. Amongst a number
of factors mentioned in the Ramsar Information Sheet as 'threats and disturbances'
are the gradual silting-up and eutrophication of the bay, the impact of moto-cross
vehicles, and the continuing presence of World War Two mines. [31/1/98]
More to follow. Watch this space.
Feedback and suggestions 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.
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.
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