Senior Policy Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation joins Ramsar Bureau

(posted to the Ramsar Forum, 18 August 2000)

Dear Forum Members,

I am pleased to announce that Alain Lambert has joined the staff of the Ramsar Convention Bureau on 1 August as Senior Policy Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation.

Since the Conference of the Parties in 1996, the Ramsar Bureau has recognized the importance of having an officer to work full time with the community of bilateral and multilateral institutions providing support for environment and development issues in developing countries and countries in transition. The proposal to create such a position received strong support at the last Conference of the Parties in May 1999 and was approved by the Standing Committee at its meeting in November 1999.

Now the new post at the Ramsar Bureau is a reality, and we have been lucky to be able to recruit Alain Lambert, who comes to the position with a significant track record in the area of environment and development, both internationally and at the field level. Alain, 40, is a citizen of Belgium. He is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Alain’s work will consist primarily in developing further the working relations of the Bureau with the bilateral and multilateral institutions which provide support to developing countries and countries in transition in order to increase their interest and support for wetland related issues. But it is NOT our intention to raise funds for projects to be implemented by the Ramsar Bureau. The aim is to act further as a catalyzer to contribute to safeguarding wetland resources when they perform important ecological functions for conservation of biological diversity and the benefit of human society, and/or to increase the wise use of these resources, so as to develop the full potential of wetlands as national assets for sustainable development. In so doing, the Ramsar Bureau will continue to give priority to joint projects and approaches with the other environment-related conventions.

In the discharge of his functions Alain will also be in close contact with the Ramsar Administrative Authorities and other institutions in recipient countries, so that the Ramsar Bureau can be of further assistance to its main constituency, the Contracting Parties to the Convention.

If you have suggestions to make to Alain or wish to support him in his task, please contact him directly at lambert@ramsar.org .

With best regards,

Delmar Blasco (Mr./M./Sr.)

Secretary General / Secrétaire général / Secretario General Convention on Wetlands / Convention sur les zones humides / Convención sobre los Humedales (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) Tel. + 41 22 - 999 0170 (direct 999 0180) Fax + 41 22 - 999 0169 E-mail: blasco@ramsar.org   Website: www.ramsar.org 

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