The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 2 June 2003

Headline story. UN World Environment Day focuses on water. The United Nations' World Environment Day has chosen "Water - Two Billion People are Dying for It!" as its theme for its 5 June 2003 celebrations and awareness-raising activities around the world -- a theme dear to every Ramsar heart. The Ramsar community should be encouraged to participate and ensure that the water message includes wetlands as a key component. That's what the Secretary General is going to do at the "Providing Freshwater for All" roundtable at the International Environment House in Geneva at 10:35 a.m. on 5 June 2003 (book reservations now). Here's some more detail. [02/06/03]

Headline story. Wetland management planning for West Africa. The International Course on Wetland Management, run by the Dutch government's Wetlands Advisory and Training Centre (WATC) annually since 1994, has introduced some 165 participants from 60 countries to the Ramsar principles of wetland management. Many of the graduates have returned to their countries and made enormous contributions, and some have also contributed at the international level, including quite a few who have subsequently served as interns in the Ramsar Bureau. In fact, in his Foreword to Wetland Management Planning: five years of case studies from West Africa, WATC Director Bart Fokkens says that at Ramsar COP8 in November 2002, he met 24 of the course alumni. This impressive new book, edited by Pieter Terpstra and published by Wetlands International through its West Africa programme in Dakar, includes the full texts, tables, and photos of 19 draft wetland management plans covering West African wetlands, including many Ramsar sites, that students of the International Course produced in the course of their studies. It's extremely valuable for its information on those key sites, and equally welcome as a big step forward in their wise use management. The 358-page A4 book, ISBN 910 5882 9642, can be purchased from NHBS (the Natural History Book Service), http://www.nhbs.com, and further information can be sought on the Wetlands International Web site, http://www.wetlands.org. [Note: the Ramsar Secretary General is a member of the board of the WATC International Course.] [02/06/03]

Headline story. First board meeting for Panama Ramsar Centre. The Regional Ramsar Center for Training and Research on Wetlands in the Western Hemisphere, to be hosted by Panama at the "City of Knowledge" international center, was created in accordance with Resolution VII.26 with a vision to "promote research on the management and wise use of wetlands throughout the Americas through training and the development of tools for evaluating impacts, methodologies and economic use plus mechanisms for communication". The Agreement for its creation was signed between the Government of Panama and the Ramsar Convention Bureau in February 2003 during the 29th Meeting of the Standing Committee. The Centre's first board meeting took place in Panama on 27 May 2003, and here is a brief report in English and Español, with a few photos. [30 May 2003]

Who's where? 

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser for Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Montreal, Canada, for the Convention on Biological Diversity's workshop on Incentives (3-5 June 2003). Following that meeting, he will go directly to Niamey, Niger, to attend a workshop on Niger's national strategy to combat poverty. [02/06/03]

New on the Site: Updated Key Concepts Index to the Ramsar Convention text, all 200 Resolutions and Recommendations since 1980, and both of the Strategic Plans, including the results of COP8 in November 2002; STRP Work Plan for 2003-2005. [30/05/03]

Wetlands and Sustainable Development workshop in Panama. SENACYT (National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation, Panama - senacyt@senacyt.gob.pa) reports on the first scientific workshop "Iberoamerican Wetlands and Sustainable Development", which took place this week (26 May) at SENACYT headquarters in Panama, sponsored by the Iberoamerican Program of Science and Technology for Development (CYTED). Margarita Astràlaga represented the Ramsar Convention. Read more in Spanish. [29/05/03]

Humedales y Desarrollo Sostenible - SENACYT (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Panamá senacyt@senacyt.gob.pa) reporta sobre el Primer Taller Científico "Los Humedales de Iberoamérica y el Desarrollo Sostenible" llevado a cabo esta semana en la sede de SENACYT, e impulsado por el Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo (CYTED).

Ready for viewing.Costa Rica's World Wetlands Day envelope, bearing the country's new wetlands stamp. For further information, Dr Enrique J. Lahmann, Director Regional, UICN-Mesoamérica, Apdo.Postal 146-2150, Moravia, COSTA RICA (enrique.lahmann@iucn.org). [28/05/03]

Announcement.I Taller Nacional sobre la problemática de los ecosistemas de manglar en las áreas de reserva federales y estatales (Workshop on issues related to mangrove ecosystems in federal and state reserves, June 26-28, 2003 - Tapachula Chiapas, México). El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Ecosur Tapachula, El Parque Nacional Lagunas de Chacahua y la Reserva de la Biosfera La Encrucijada (Sitio Ramsar) invitan a: Directores y Administradores de áreas de reservas, Investigadores, Profesionistas, Estudiantes, Tomadores de decisiones, Líderes de Organizaciones de sociales y Organizaciones no gubernamentales a participar en el taller que se llevará a cabo del 26 al 28 de junio de 2003 en El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Ecosur en la Ciudad de Tapachula Chiapas, México. Más. [23/05/03]

Announcement.Wetland restoration course set for Ontario, Canada. The Temperate Wetland Restoration Training Course (Ontario, Canada) will take place September 7-12, 2003. "This intensive 6 day training course, involving significant fieldwork and some classroom instruction, is a collaborative effort, developed by staff from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment Canada, Trent University and Ducks Unlimited. The course, in its 7th year, is administered through the Watershed Science Centre at Trent University. The course examines methods of restoring wetland function in both agricultural and urbanized settings and offers practical instruction within the framework of existing Ontario guidelines and policies. Wetland restoration principles learned at this course can be applied in any environment." The course instructors will be Kevin Erwin and Dan Mansell. The announcement has been reprinted here, and more information is available from http://www.trentu.ca/wsc/training.shtml and from Leslie Collins, Course Coordinator, Watershed Science Centre, Trent University (lcollins@trentu.ca). Final date for applications: June 6th, 2003. [Please note that the course is not sponsored by the Ramsar Bureau. Please contact the organizers directly.] [23/05/03]

Progress report on Madagascar's work for the wise use of wetlands.Simon Rafanomezantsoa, WWF- Madagascar Freshwater Officer and until recently an intern in the Ramsar Bureau, has provided a progress report on an ambitious project the purpose of which is to develop a National Wetland Strategy, conduct a national wetland inventory, designate six new Wetlands of International Importance (with management plans for some of them), and extend the country's two existing Ramsar sites - for a total of over 800,000 hectares. The government's Direction Générale des Eaux et Forêts (DGEF) and the Comité National Ramsar (CONARAMS) have been working with financial and technical support from WWF's Living Waters Programme and the collaboration of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, The Peregrine Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and WWF-Madagascar and plan eventually to donate over a million Ramsar hectares as a WWF "Gift to the Earth". Anada Tiéga, the Ramsar Bureau's Regional Coordinator for Africa, points out three very encouraging features of this report: 1) It shows the impressive extent to which the new Contracting Party Madagascar is taking seriously its obligations under the Convention; 2) it demonstrates the catalytic effect of the Bureau's internship programme, as former interns return to their home countries and work to advance the Convention's objectives; and 3) it illustrates the continuing excellent cooperation between the Convention and its International Organization Partners, in this case the WWF Living Waters Programme and WWF-Madagascar. The progress report, with some photos, is available right here (French only). [22/05/03]

Social event of the year. A swarm of Interns. Present, new, outgoing, and former Ramsar interns/assistants to the Regional Coordinators gathered on 20 May - as Sergei Dereliev reports, speaking for the RIC (Ramsar Interns Committee), "the largest concentration of former/present Ramsar interns ever (8)! The farewell-and-welcoming party took place on 20 May 2003 in Gland, generously hosted by 'Casa Julio', with rivers of drinks and delicious Neotropic and Algerian cuisine, live Latino music, and many other surprises. It was a milestone event in the history of the Ramsar Convention and will certainly bring positive changes soon." Representative Dereliev continues, "After having carefully checked the Ramsar Criteria, we certainly think that the concentration of eight interns is more than 1% of the biogeographical population of this weird wetland (night bird) species (Criterion 6). Consequently, the RIC took the decision to designate 'Casa Julio' as the first Place (Venue) of International Importance for the Ramsar Convention." Here. [22/05/03]

Fête today.International Day for Biological Diversity. 22 May is Biological Diversity Day, by a decision of the UN General Assembly in 2000, intended to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the theme for this year is "Biodiversity and poverty alleviation - challenges for sustainable development". "Many of the Parties to the Convention have fostered creative local public events to mark the occasion, emphasizing that governments, special interest groups, academic institutions, communities and individuals are all stakeholders and have a responsibility to conserve biodiversity and to use our biological resources in a sustainable way. The Secretariat encourages the Parties and stakeholders to reach out to young people by assisting teachers to develop biodiversity information and activity programs for students of all ages, by involving them in local celebrations of International Biological Diversity Day, and by publicly recognizing outstanding biodiversity-related school projects." Background info, a press release, and an inspirational statement from Secretary-General Kofi Annan are available on the CBD's Web site at http://www.biodiv.org/outreach/awareness/biodiv-day-2003.asp.[22/05/03]

Discussion paper available.Economic valuation of wetlands on the river basin scale. "In all regions of the world, human populations are suffering social, economic and environmental hardship resulting from the destruction and mismanagement of their natural resources, notably including their wetlands and water resources. This destruction, which is continuing at alarming rates in many countries, is contributing to escalating poverty and water supply and food security problems, as well as robbing the planet of the biological diversity with which wetlands are endowed. . . . Although wetlands are amongst the richest life-supporting ecosystems on earth, they are amongst the most threatened and destroyed. Why do human beings destroy what are essential elements of their ecosystems? The answer is relatively simple: because they do not value wetland goods and services in economic and monetary terms." Alain Lambert, Ramsar's Senior Advisor for Environment and Development Cooperation, lays out the need for economic valuation of wetlands and summarizes the issues involved in this discussion paper, which will be presented and discussed at the World Parks Congress in Durban and other fora in the autumn. [21/05/03]

Ramsar staff news. New members of the regional teams take up their posts. It's always sad to say farewell to our young colleagues, but at the same time the Bureau is pleased to announce that two new members have joined the Bureau staff this week. Ms Liazzat Rabbiosi of Kazakhstan (asia@ramsar.org) becomes the new Intern/Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Asia, Dr Lei Guangchun, taking over from Ms Ma Jia of China, who is just completing her tenure in the Bureau. Ms Estelle Gironnet of France (europe@ramsar.org) is our new Intern/Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Europe, Dr Tobias Salathé, and is presently suffering through a concentrated introduction to Bureau procedures with her predecessor, Sergei Dereliev of Bulgaria. Brief introductions to our two new colleagues can be found on the Bulletin Board page from March 2003. [21/05/03]

3rd Australian Wetlands Forum features top Ramsar speakers."Ramsar working in Australia - linking local wetlands to the Ramsar international family" is the theme of the Third Australian Wetlands Forum, organized by Wetland Care Australia, in conjunction with WWF Australia, Australian Society of Limnology, and the Society of Wetland Scientists, Australia, and to be held at the Banrock Station Wine & Wetland Centre in South Australia, 13 June 2003. (Banrock won one of the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Awards in 2002 for its innovative private sector involvement in wetland conservation.) The programme focuses on the impact of recent Ramsar innovations on the wetland conservation movement in Australia, particularly with regard to the private sector, landowners, and the NGOs. Speakers include such well-informed friends of the Ramsar Convention as Max Finlayson (chair of our STRP), Bill Phillips (our former Deputy Secretary General), Chris Prietto of The Wetlands Centre, Michelle Handley of WWF, Doug Watkins of Wetlands International, and Sarah Young of Environment Australia, among others. The interesting programme has been reprinted here, and further information can be sought from Justine Graham, Wetland Care Australia, justinegraham@wetlandcare.com.au. [20/05/03]

Costa Rica names high-altitude peatlands as its 11th Ramsar site. The Ramsar Bureau is delighted to announce that Costa Rica has designated the Turberas de Talamanca ("Talamanca peatlands") for the Ramsar List, bringing its total number of Ramsar sites to eleven, covering 510,050 hectares. The new site, covering 192,520 hectares between 700 and 3281 meters above sea level in San José, Cartago, and Limón provinces in the interior of the country, exhibits a rich array of non-forested peatlands, paramos, meadows, cloud forests, and rain forests, and supports a large number of interesting plants and mammals, some of them threatened. Two National Parks lie within the Ramsar site. A brief description of the site by Ramsar's Julio Montes de Oca is available here in English and Spanish. The Convention now has 1,284 Wetlands of International Importance in 136 Contracting Parties, totaling 108.9 million hectares, more than the surface area of France, Germany, and Switzerland combined. [19/05/03] [français et/y español]

Now available. The STRP's work plan for 2003-2005. Read 'em and weep. The Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) is the subsidiary body of volunteer experts that provides serious technical advice to the Convention on issues of ongoing and emerging importance -- it consists of 15 individual members from the regions, serving in their capacity as independent experts rather than as country representatives, and delegates from the four International Organization Partners, with representatives of 18 other multilateral environmental agreements and non-governmental organizations formally invited as permanent observers (by Resolution VIII.28). COP8 (the 8th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Valencia, 2002) adopted a Strategic Plan and 46 Resolutions which between them requested studies and guidance from the STRP on nearly a quarter of a million distinct topics, which the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee (February 2003) whittled down to 150,000 and kindly prioritized. In April 2003, the newly-elected STRP, meeting in Gland, sifted through those priorities and devised its Work Plan for the next triennium, defining its Expert Working Groups and their Leads and establishing all the desired outcomes and timetables. This draft Work Plan 2003-2005 has now been approved by the Standing Committee and stands officially as very hard reading in itself, but never mind, as a blueprint for the wisdom and guidance that will likely be made available for COP9 in Uganda in 2005, it's a well-thought-out, ambitious, and probably feasible programme of work. It's newly available, in all its profundity and girth, on this Web site at key_strp_workplan_2003.htm for the Web version and key_strp_workplan_2003.pdf for the Acrobat version. The report of the 11th meeting of the STRP, with its extraordinary photos, is available at strp11_report.htm. [16/05/03]

Workshop on lagoon wetlands set for 10th anniversary of Kushiro COP. The "International Workshop on Wise Use of Lagoon Wetlands" will be held in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan on 23-25 July 2003, and will be organized as a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the 5th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar Center Japan is performing the secretariat duties for the organizing committee, along with the Kushiro International Wetland Center, the Foundation of Hokkaido River Disaster Prevention Research Center, and the Hokkaido Development Engineering Center. The RCJ's secretary general, Ms Reiko Nakamura, has provided a description of the event, and a form for registering yourself, your paper, and/or your poster presentation. Here it is. [14/05/03]

'Ramsar meets Venice: for sustainable management of the environmental heritage' . . .. was the theme of a meeting organized in the Arsenale di Venezia by the Provincial Government of Venice on 9 May 2003. Since 1998, the Province of Venice has included in its strategic plan the designation of the entire Lagoon of Venice (about 50,000 ha) as a Wetland of International Importance. About 80 participants, scientists and experts, administrators from different sectors, stakeholders and locally elected people gathered in the historic Naval Library. It was an important milestone towards the goal of conferring Ramsar status to the Venice Lagoon. The meeting was chaired by Luigino Busatto, the President of Venice Province, and organized by the Department for Hunting and Fishing, under the leadership of Assesora Delia Murer of the Provincial Government. In preparation of the meeting, two Ramsar experts, María José Viñals (STRP member) and Michael Smart (former Senior Advisor in the Ramsar Bureau), were asked by the Province to prepare planning guidelines for the management of Venice Lagoon. Following the meeting, a study tour of the Venice Lagoon was arranged for the Ramsar visitors -- Tobias Salathé's brief report, with photos, is available here. [13/05/03]

ICRI wraps up meeting in Gland, Switzerland. The Ramsar Convention Bureau and IUCN-The World Conservation Union hosted the International Coral Reef Initiative's (ICRI) Coordinating and Planning Committee (CPC) Meeting in Gland, Switzerland the past 8-9 of May, in coordination with ICRI's Joint Philippines-Sweden Secretariat. This fruitful meeting was highlighted by the transfer of the ICRI Secretariat to the United Kingdom for the next two year period, starting July 2003, with the Seychelles as the developing country co-host. The complete meeting report, including resolutions and recommendations, will be made available in the ICRI Forum shortly. (www.icriforum.org). A brief report, photos, and a list of participants are available here. [13/05/03]

Sustainable tourism toolkit available in Spanish.Maria Anagnostopoulou, Ramsar's MedWet Communications Officer based in the MedWet Coordination Unit in Athens, Greece, reports that "We have uploaded to our Web site the Spanish version of the recent MedWet toolkit (5 volumes) for sustainable tourism in wetlands, published in 2002 by SEHUMED (the Spanish wetland centre - member of the MedWet Technical Network), in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia and with the support of the Ramsar Bureau, and it's available at: http://www.medwet.org/online/online.htm." [12/05/03]

Wetland info for the Oceania region. The Oceania Wetlands Help-line, managed by Bill Phillips of Mainstream Environmental Consulting (MainStream@mainstream.com.au), has now been launched and can be reached through http://www.wetlandshelp-line.com. The site is designed to assist people within the Oceania region, though some of the information may have more general interest for practitioners from other regions. The site is set up to be a Web-based 'filing cabinet' for advice, guidance and other information which is 'out there', but not always easy to find if you don't have the contacts. Bill Phillips hopes that others who know of useful resource materials will let him know about them. Through the site one will find everything from the (English versions) of the Ramsar Wise Use 'toolkit' handbooks, additional guidance adopted at COP8, lots of regional information about Ramsar sites, how to designate more, management planning, organisations that can help, opportunities for seeking financial assistance.....and lots, lots more. While it is already a large site, it is still very much under construction, so some pages are still growing. Bill writes to the Ramsar Forum: "The part of the site I am seeking particular help with is the so-called Virtual tour of Ramsar sites in Oceania. I need photos of these sites so that this can become an exciting and interesting entry point for people who know little about Ramsar and the concept of Wetlands of International Importance. If anyone has photos for the Ramsar sites in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea or Palau, please let me know. The photographers will retain copyright of any material put up on the site. The photos will also be used at sufficiently low resolution to minimise piracy." [12/05/03]

Vacancy announcement. BirdLife International seeks projects manager for Middle East / Africa projects. 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, in Cambridge, the UK. This position will form a part of a conservation project management team at the Secretariat. The postholder's responsibilities will include management and development of an 11-country project covering the Middle East and Africa. He or she will also be involved in the development of new projects working closely with the national non-government organization Partners in the BirdLife network. A brief description is available here[link later removed], and more details can be found at at www.birdlife.org/jobs. Rosina Abudulai is the contact person (rosina.abudulai@birdlife.org.uk) and 6 June is the deadline for applications. [12/05/03]

Memorandum of Agreement 2003 - 2008 between the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Wetlands International. On 29 April 2003, at a meeting of the United Kingdom National Ramsar Committee in Peterborough, United Kingdom, the recently concluded Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between JNCC (United Kingdom) and Wetlands International was officially launched. The MoA outlines the details of programme support from the United Kingdom through JNCC for a period of five years with a total budget of over GBP 250,000. This MoA supports three major programmes and two projects of Wetlands International: Programmes: -International Waterbird Census - Specialist Groups activities within Wetlands International - Global Waterbird Flyway Conference 2004; Projects: -Regular update on phasing out of lead gunshot -Review of the European Status of Ruddy Duck. The meeting was well attended by representatives of government agencies and NGOs from all over the United Kingdom. Wetlands International's representative, Dr. Gerard C. Boere, presented a comprehensive overview of Wetlands International's present organisation and programme activities both on regional and global level. He expressed great appreciation on behalf of Wetlands International for the continued substantial support from the UK for the global activities. Futhermore he strongly called on other country members of Wetlands International to follow this example of long term programme support. [10/05/03]

Recent news from MedWet - two meetings in Athens. On 6 and 7 May 2003, the MedWet Coordinator, Spyros Kouvelis, participated in two meetings in Athens that will be of interest to the Ramsar community. The first was a high-level conference organized by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as President of the EU) and the World Bank, on shared waters and peace in Southeastern Europe. The second was the final meeting of the SAP-BIO Advisory Committee, organized in Athens by the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). Spyros' brief report is available here. [09/05/03]

ICRI meets at Ramsar. The Ramsar Convention Bureau is hosting the International Coral Reef Initiative's (ICRI) Coordinating and Planning Committee (CPC) Meeting at the IUCN / Ramsar Headquarters, in Gland, Switzerland on the 8th and 9th May 2003, in coordination with ICRI's Joint Philippines-Sweden Secretariat. The meeting will discuss proposals and new arrangements for the future turn-over of the ICRI Secretariat in July 2003. Additionally, new ICRI representatives to the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) Board will be chosen as incumbent representatives end their terms. The draft agenda and documents can be downloaded from: http://www.icriforum.org/router.cfm?show=secretariat/sec_home.html&Item=1. [08/05/03]

Now available. Photos from STRP11. The 11th meeting of the Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) took place in early April 2003 in order to provide opportunities for STRP individual members and member organization partners and observer organizations to talk environmental jargon, "network" with one another, and develop a work plan for the next triennium that runs to 52 pages in a small typeface. Here, now at last, at long last -- here are the photographic memorabilia of these momentous events, subdivided into "plenaries", "dinner", "reception", "quiz", and "miscellaneous", the last of which includes the Secretary General's cowbell, the signing of an MOC with LakeNet, and David Stroud wrapping himself in the flag (left). Sit up straight and take a deep breath, and then proceed fearlessly. [08/05/03]

Now available.Waterbird Population Estimates - Third Edition is now available for downloading from the Wetlands International Website. The Wetlands International publication Waterbird Population Estimates - Third Edition was launched in hardcopy at Ramsar COP8 in Valencia last November. The publication is now available for consultation and downloading on Wetlands International's Web site. Bookmarks in the PDF files make it easy to find a particular species you may be looking for. The importance of this publication especially for the Ramsar Convention is that it provides the basis of Criterion 6 whereby any wetland regularly supporting 1% or more of a waterbird biogeographical population qualifies as a Wetland of International Importance. This new, much expanded and improved edition in full colour includes a distribution map for each species kindly provided by Lynx Edicions, publishers of Handbook of the Birds of the World. It identifies 2,271 biogeographical populations of 868 species recognised as waterbirds occurring throughout the world. It provides estimates of the numerical abundance of 1,725 (76%) of these populations, and estimates population trends (whether declining, stable or increasing) for 1,138 (50%). The publication sets 1% levels for use in applying Criterion 6 for identifying Wetlands of International Importance, and provides information fundamental to the application of other Multilateral Environmental Agreements such as the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) under the Bonn Convention (CMS). Finally, Waterbird Population Estimates - Third Editionidentifies gaps in knowledge of populations, species and geographical regions, and users are encouraged to contribute to future editions by helping to fill these gaps. -- reported by Wetlands International. [07/05/03]

News from SGF.News from the Lower Neretva Valley. Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina have successfully completed their Ramsar Small Grants Fund 2000 project "Preparation of the project Transboundary Management Plan for the Lower Neretva Valley". The project has been jointly implemented by two counterpart institutions: from Croatian side - the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning, and from Bosnia & Herzegovina's side - the Ministry of Civil Engineering, Physical Planning and Environmental Protection of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton through its authorized institution the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Mostar. A short summary by Sergei Dereliev, based on the final report, reveals some of the major project activities and achievements and has some very nice photos. At the same time, MedWet Senior Advisor Thymio Papayannis reports on the 3 May meeting between authorities from Croatia and Bosnia & Herzogovina, to advance the progress of transboundary management cooperation for the area. [06/05/03]

Announcement. El Sr. Carlos Franco Pacheco, del Foro Ecológico del Perú (Lince, Perú - foro@sifocom.org.pe) nos informa de los "Talleres y Seminario Nacional Conservación y Uso Sostenible de los Humedales en el Perú - ¡Hagamos de los Humedales una oportunidad para el Perú!", a llevarse a cabo en Chimbote, Arequipa, Huancayo y Lima, Perú, entre el 16 de Mayo y 4 de Junio del 2003. Sírvanse encontrar adjuntos los detalles de los eventos. [06/05/03]

Sr. Carlos Franco Pacheco, of the Foro Ecológico del Perú (Lince, Perú - foro@sifocom.org.pe) has informed us of the upcoming "National Workshops and Seminar for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Peru" to be held in the cities of Chimbote, Arequipa, Huancayo, and Lima, Perú, between may 16 and june 4, 2003. Please find attached the details of the event (Spanish).

Pakistan designates three new Ramsar sites. The Ramsar Bureau is particularly pleased to announce three new Wetlands of International Importance in Pakistan totaling over 1 million hectares, all wildlife sanctuaries and all in Sindh Province, designated effective 5 November 2002. Deh Akro-II Desert Wetland Complex (20,500 ha, 26°50'N 068°20'E) consists of east-west dune systems punctuated by 36 permanent lakes in the inter-dunal valleys, home to a number of rare species. Indus Delta (~472,800 ha, 24°06'N 067°42'E) is the 5th largest delta system in the world and home to the 7th largest mangrove forest system. The Runn of Kutch (566,375 ha; 24°23'N 070°05'E), part of the great Thar desert and part of the very large transfrontier wetland system also known as the Rann of Kutch, is likewise characterized by sand dune systems broken up by inter-dunal depressions with alluvial soil. Sindh authorities were materially assisted in the preparation of these site designations by WWF-Pakistan with the benefit of financial assistance from WWF International's Living Waters Programme. Pakistan now has 19 Ramsar sites covering 1,343,627 hectares, and the Convention's 1283 sites now cover a surface area of 108,751,595 hectares. Further details on the three new sites are available here. (Note: WWF is also working with the Indian Government to prepare the designation of several new wetlands of international importance in India, including the Indian side of the Rann of Kutch. WWF is expecting that the process under way in India may be completed very soon.) [05/05/03] [français et/y español]

News from the SGF. Republic of Moldova completes Dniester restoration SGF project. Moldova has successfully completed an SGF 2000 project "Restoration, Rehabilitation and Implementation of Protective Measures in the Core Wetland Areas in the Dniester River Downstream in Moldova". This project has been implemented by the Moldova's Ecological Society "Biotica", which has a long-standing leading role among NGOs in wetland conservation in the country. Sergei Dereliev offers a short summary based on the final report on the major project activities and achievements, with photos. [05/05/03]

Inauguration of Japanese Lawmakers' League for Increasing Ramsar Sites. Kei Inami (inami.kei@nifty.ne.jp), writing on behalf of Hiroyuki Tani, new Secretary General of the Japanese Lawmakers' League for Increasing Ramsar Sites, informs the Bureau that 102 people attended the inaugural meeting of the League on 16 April, including 35 members of the Diet (or Parliament) and 22 secretaries of Diet members, as well as many from the media. Ms Kayoko Shimizu was elected the chairwoman of the League and Mr Tani was elected secretary general. Congratulatory letters from Delmar Blasco and from Akiko Domoto, Governor of Chiba Prefecture, were read out, and a few photos (one of Mr Tani and Mr Blasco) can be seen at http://www.tani-hiroyuki.com/ramsar.htm (text in Japanese). [05/05/03]

The Netherlands adds 11 more wetlands to the Ramsar List. The Ramsar Bureau is very glad to announce the next batch of newly designated Ramsar sites in The Netherlands, following the listing of 14 new sites and 1 extension announced in February 2003. The Government of The Netherlands has made another significant contribution to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance with 11 more coastal and inland sites covering 127,680 hectares. The Ramsar Bureau's European regional team stresses that it's worth mentioning the superior quality of the GIS maps for these sites. Currently the Netherlands has 49 sites totaling 818,908 hectares. Soon, after the updates on the other existing sites in the country have been studied and accepted, it is expected that the total number of sites will drop by 2 sites to 47 due to the reconfiguration of the Ramsar site of Waddenzee (Wadden Sea) which will swallow up two smaller ones - Boschplaat and Griend. The Bureau once again heartily welcomes these significant commitments by the Government of The Netherlands to the health of its environment. Here find brief descriptions of the eleven new Dutch sites, prepared by Ramsar's Sergei Dereliev from the Ramsar Information Sheets. [02/05/03]

Announcement. Wetland management training for East Africa.The East African Wetland Management Course (EAWMC) is a regional training initiative for wetland managers. It is a Ramsar Convention-endorsed programme and it is designed based on the Ramsar New Guidelines for management planning for Ramsar sites and other wetlands (Resolution VIII.14). The EAWMC has been developed and organized primarily by the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute (KWSTI) in conjunction with the Wetland Advisory and Training Centre (RIZA), the Netherlands, with subsequent contribution from Uganda and Tanzania to suit the African situation. This year's six-week (42-days) residential course, based in Naivasha, Kenya, is scheduled for 17th September to 28th October 2003.More information here in English and Français. [02/05/03]

Global Biodiversity Forum for Eastern Europe and the CIS. On 23-25 April 2003, the GBF held its first Regional Session for Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (of the former USSR) in Chisinau (Kishinev in Russian), the capital of the Republic of Moldova which joined the Ramsar Convention in 2000. The meeting was perfectly organized by IUCN-the World Conservation Union, through their Moscow-based office for Russia and the CIS, and by Biotica, the Ecological Society of Moldova. It brought together more than 150 participants from Moldova, Russia, most of the CIS states, Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania, as well as representatives of the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, GEF, UNESCO Man and Biosphere, the European Centre for Nature Conservation, the Ramsar Convention and others. Here Ramsar's Tobias Salathé supplies a brief report on the meeting and a subsequent field visit to the Prut River floodplain, with a few photos. [01/05/03]

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). Updated regularly by Dwight Peck, Ramsar Bureau.