The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 6 April 2006

Headline story.Ramsar legal workshop for Africa. Yaounde, Cameroon, was the venue for a 27-28 March 2006 workshop on "legal support for the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in West and Central Africa". The Secretariat was represented by Abou Bamba, the Senior Advisor for Africa, who reports that the workshop, officially the "Seminaire d'Appui Juridique à la mise en oeuvre de la Convention Ramsar en Afrique Francophone de l'Ouest et Centrale", was sponsored by the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law (CEL), the International Center for Comparative Environmental Law, and the Centre pour l'Environnement et le Développement and funded by the Agence International de la Francophonie through the Québec-based Institut de l'énergie et de l'environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF), with the participation of the Ramsar Secretariat, the IUCN Central Africa Office, and UNEP. Here is Abou's report on the meeting and the discussions that took place there, as well as the Declaration agreed by the participants. [06/04/06]

Now available.MedWet Regions DVD. Sofia Spirou, Communications officer, MedWet Coordination Unit, writes: "A DVD containing results of the project entitled Action program for wetlands in the Mediterranean region, also known as MedWet Regions, was recently released. Produced by the Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Medio Ambiente, the Spanish-language DVD contains information and inventory data presented in an interactive format. Also included on the DVD are interactive maps allowing users to navigate through layers of data on wetlands and their surrounding areas. Presence and size of settlements, vegetation, hydrographic network and location of wetlands are among the data mapped and available for browsing. More information on the DVD is available here." [06/04/06]

Headline story.Ramsar signs MOC with Congo Basin Commission. On 20 March 2006, on the peripheries of the IV World Water Forum in Mexico, Secretaries General Peter Bridgewater and Benjamin Ndala signed a memorandum of cooperation between the Ramsar Secretariat and the International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin. The Commission Internationale du Bassin Congo-Oubangui-Sangha (CICOS) was created in November 1999 in an accord signed by the heads of state of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's an intergovernmental organization charged with managing the navigable waterways of the region sustainably and promoting integrated water resources management for the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin. Its objectives are to support sustainable development, reduce poverty, and reinforce regional integration in the countries of the basin. The MOC provides for increased exchange of information about activities and work programmes and for the possibility of joint activities between CICOS and the Convention and its International Organization Partners; it will also help to keep wetland values high on the very full CICOS agenda of concerns. The text of the MOC and photos of the signing can be seen here. [05/04/06]

Who's Where?

For more old Ramsar Secretariat travel news, see also 'Who Was Where', 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006

Yesterday's News!

WHSRN site assessment tool released. The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network is proud to announce the launch of its “WHSRN Site Assessment Tool”, for conservation planning at each of the 64 member sites. The Tool, an Excel workbook with both English and Spanish versions, adapts and incorporates methods developed by IUCN–The World Conservation Union, BirdLife International, The Nature Conservancy and WWF. [05/04/06]

Cameroon joins the Convention on Wetlands. The Secretariat is very pleased to announce that Cameroon has joined the Ramsar family as the 151st Party to the Convention, as amended in 1982 and 1987 - the treaty will come into force for Cameroon four months after the deposit of its instrument of accession with UNESCO, i.e., on 20 July 2006. The new Party's obligatory first Wetland of International Importance is the well-known Waza Logone Floodplain (600,000 hectares, 11°38'N 014°37'E), which includes two National Parks and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The site comprises the whole of the floodplain of the lower Logone River in the extreme north of the country, between Nigeria and Chad, within the Lake Chad basin between Lake Maga and Lake Chad. Said to represent 10% of the surface area of major inland wetlands in the West African Sahel, the area is home to more than 100,000 people who depend upon wetland products for fishing, seasonal grazing, and agriculture. A 2001 census counted more than 320,000 waterbirds from 104 species, and there is a huge concentration of wildlife, particularly in the parks, including large mammals such as elephant, ostrich, giraffe, lion, and many others. Two decades of poor rainfall and the construction of the Maga Dam in 1981 for rice irrigation caused severe disruption to the ecological character of the floodplain, but an important rehabilitation project, begun in 1988 and a collaboration among IUCN, the governments of Cameroon and the Netherlands, and the CML of Leiden University, with contributions from other institutions such as WWF and the EC, has shown good results in demonstrating the feasibility of the partial rehabilitation of the floodplain.

WWF's Global Freshwater Programme and a grant from the Ramsar Swiss Grant for Africa have been of great assistance to the government of Cameroon in preparing the site data required for accession. On the restoration project, see also Paul Loth, ed., The return of the water: restoring the Waza Logone floodplain in Cameroon. IUCN Wetlands and Water Resources Programme, Blue Series. IUCN, 2004. [04/04/06]

Now available.Ramsar presentation on wetlands and livelihoods. At a CBD COP8 side event on “Wetlands, Water and Livelihoods” organized by Wetlands International on 23 March, the Deputy Secretary General made a presentation on The Ramsar Convention: wetlands and livelihoods. The text of his presentation is available here. Other presentations were made by David Coates (CBD Secretariat) on CBD’s approach to sustainable use of inland water biodiversity and human well-being, Kemi Awoyinka (Wetlands International) on WI’s Wetlands and Poverty Reduction project, and Henk Simons (IUCN-Netherlands) on the Green Coast project, which concerns Indian Ocean post-tsunami work responding to the needs of people and biodiversity. A full report of the event will appear soon on Wetlands International’s Web site (www.wetlands.org). [31/03/06]

United Kingdom's 164th Ramsar site. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that the UK has designated a new Wetland of International Importance, effective 1 March 2006. Lihou Island and L'Erée Headland, Guernsey (427 hectares, 49°28'N 002°40'W) comprises several coastal areas on the west coast of the Channel island of Guernsey, including the shingle bank Les Anguillieres and the western end of L'Erée Headland as well as the small northwestern Lihou Island and surrounding marine coastal areas. Within a relatively small area there is an amazing variety of interesting habitat types including rocky, gravelly and sandy shoreline, the sublittoral zone, coastal grassland, saltmarsh, reedbed and saline lagoon, as well as vegetated shingle banks, seagrass Zostera beds, and wet grassland, altogether supporting a rich diversity of animals and plants such as 214 different species of seaweed on the tiny shore around Lihou Island. The area also has a rich cultural heritage, with many important archaeological and historical remains. In summer the site offers very popular beaches for sunbathing and bathing at high tide as well as surfing and rockpooling at some places. Birdwatching is another well-liked activity which is supported by two bird hides at La Claire Mare. Integrated management plans are under development for different areas of the site. [30/03/06]

IWMI publication on water productivity and security. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one of the Ramsar Convention's partner organizations, took the occasion of the IV World Water Forum earlier this month to launch a very useful 20-page brochure entitled "Beyond more crop per drop: water management for food and the environment". Written by IWMI Director General Frank Rijsberman and Nadia Manning, with input from a number of others and based on information from the Ramsar Convention, SEI, IUCN, SIWI, and others, the pamphlet draws on the emerging results of IWMI's Comprehensive Assessment of Water in Agriculture (CA) sponsored by CGIAR, FAO, Ramsar, and the CBD. The publication "highlights various key areas for action including: increasing blue and green water productivity and access to water resources; balancing water for food and other ecosystem services; and investing in water security to aid poverty alleviation. It also identifies cross-cutting actions such as integrated water resources management, capacity building and continued research" (quoted from the IISD's MEA Bulletin no. 3). The brochure can be downloaded in PDF format from the IWMI Web site:[30/03/06]

New Intern for Asia chosen for Ramsar Secretariat. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that Ms Pragati Tuladhar from Nepal has been selected as the next Intern/Assistant Advisor for Asia, taking over from Ms Shahzia Khan from Bangladesh. Pragati graduated with a B.Sc. Hons in Environmental Science and Biology from Kathmandu University and is currently completing a Masters degree in Ecology and Environmental Management at Liverpool Hope University in the UK. In 2003 Pragati was awarded the UNEP-WCMC Chevening Scholarship at Cambridge University, where she undertook research in biodiversity and gained some GIS skills. She also acquired experience of providing maps and other information for Ramsar Information Sheets in her home country while working for IUCN Nepal in 2002-3, updating their biodiversity database. The Ramsar Secretariat looks forward to welcoming Pragati in May 2006. [29/03/06]

Now available. Proceedings of Ramsar COP9 on CD-ROM. The outcomes from the Convention's 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in Kampala in November 2005, have been available on the Ramsar Web site for some time, but now the full COP9 Proceedings can also be seen on CD-ROM. The CDs, which cover English, French, and Spanish versions of all documents, include the Conference Report, the Resolutions adopted by the COP, the list of participants, the National Reports submitted by the Parties prior to the COP, the Wetland Conservation Award winners, results of the pre-COP regional meetings, and the background information documents provided in advance of the COP itself. Readers are encouraged to use the same materials as found on the Ramsar Web site, but those who require the CD-ROM, which is free of charge, can contact Montse Riera in the Secretariat, riera@ramsar.org. [28/03/06]

News from the SGF. Exploring ecotourism potential for Lake Nakuru. The Secretariat is pleased to report on the results of a Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) project that was carried out by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and co-funded by Australia's Banrock Station, which donated its Evian Special Prize of $10,000 from the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award in 2002. The purpose of the project was to study the ecotourism potential for Lake Nakuru, a Ramsar site inKenya, within the framework of the Lake Nakuru Integrated Management Plan and the Nakuru Strategic Structure Plan developed under Agenda 21. As the final report on the SGF report explains, the area covered by the project consists of the catchment of Lake Nakuru National Park (LNNP) (approx. 1,800 km2), a region rich in culture and important for biodiversity conservation, both at a national and international level, located in Kenya's Rift Valley Province. It includes a gazetted wildlife protected area, gazetted government forests (Mau, Eburru, Dondori), and private and public land. Ramsar's Lucia Scodanibbio provides a description of the project and its outcomes, based upon the project final report, with photographs. [28/03/06]

Ramsar at the World Water Forum. Ramsar was represented at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico by Peter Bridgewater, the Secretary General, Margarita Astrálaga, the Senior Regional Adviser for the Americas (also attending another regional event), Spyros Kouvelis (the Medwet Coordinator) who was a judge in the film festival organised at the time of the Forum, and Sebastià Semene, who was in charge of the Ramsar Game and other outreach activities undertaken with the assistance of Groupe Danone. Here is the Secretary General's brief report on Ramsar-related activities and presentations. [24/03/06]

Announcement. Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme mid-term evaluation. Peter-John Meynell, UNDP Team Leader, Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme (www.mekongwetlands.org), Vientiane, Lao PDR, has sent the advertisement and terms of reference for a number of consultant positions for the Programme's mid-term evaluation, which is due to begin in mid-May and run for one month. Applicants should contact UNDP in Lao PDR by the deadline of 31 March 2006. The PDF advertisement is here, and the TOR are here. (23/03/06)

World Water Day 2006. The 22nd of March is World Water Day, the United Nations' international initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. "The theme 'Water and Culture' of WWD 2006 draws attention to the fact that there are as many ways of viewing, using, and celebrating water as there are cultural traditions across the world. Sacred, water is at the heart of many religions and is used in different rites and ceremonies. Fascinating and ephemeral, water has been represented in art for centuries - in music, painting, writing, cinema - and it is an essential factor in many scientific endeavours as well." Visit http://www.worldwaterday.org/. [22/03/06]

Ramsar at the CBD's COP8. On 19 March, the day before the formal opening of CBD COP8 in Curitiba, Brazil, the CBD Secretariat held a brainstorming meeting on the "Impacts of Avian Influenza on Wildlife", the recommendations from which will be reported to the COP by the Chair of CBD's scientific and technical subsidiary body, Christian Prip. The Ramsar Secretariat was invited to make a presentation to the meeting on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and its consequences for wetland and waterbird conservation and wise use. A text of the presentation made by the Deputy Secretary General, Nick Davidson, is available in PDF format here. It covers the issues and approaches adopted by Ramsar Parties at COP9 last November, in Resolution IX.23, as well as issues concerning the accurate use of global flyway maps for waterbirds, and makes 10 key recommendations for future improved information needs to underpin decision-making. [19/03/06] The CBD's press release on the event, 22 March 2006, can be seen here.

From the Wetlands Forum.Photos needed for exhibit. "Dear Forum members! I am writing to you on behalf of a project that I am carrying out in Austria in cooperation with WWF Austria; I work on the establishment of a Ramsar wetland and visitor centre. In one part of our exhibition we will show both the beauty of wetlands and the destructive influence than man can have on wetlands worldwide. For this I need photos which show both "untouched" wetlands and man´s destructive influence without further need of explanations: dams, drainage systems, artificial canals, oilspills, dead fish, anything of that kind in any kind of wetland worldwide. So I want to ask you if you have photos of these topics that you could donate to our exhibition. I would be extremely grateful if you could send me photos (digital if possible). I need about 200 photos of untouched and of destroyed wetlands each and I want to have a really good range from all over the world. Please do not forget to let me know whom the pictures are from. I thank you in advance!" Best regards, Mag. Michaela Bodner, Unter WasserReich, Ramsar-Stadtgemeinde - Schrems OEG, Moorbadstraße 4, 3943 Schrems, www.unterwasserreich.at. [20/03/06]

Now available.The Ramsar Information Sheet, 2006-2008. The Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands, abbreviated RIS, is the basic datasheet adopted by Ramsar COP4 in 1990, and amended several times since, to provide a description of each Wetland of International Importance - it's meant to justify the inclusion of the wetland in the Ramsar List by assessing its international importance against the agreed Criteria; supply additional data about ecological character, values, and threats that will be needed to manage the site effectively; and provide a view of the site to inform the public about its virtues. The RIS includes the "Explanatory Note and Guidelines" for filling it out, as well as the Ramsar "Classification System for Wetland Type", a very broad framework adopted in the late 1980s, based on the Cowardin system, intended to aid rapid identification of the main wetland habitats represented at each Ramsar site. And it includes the "Criteria for Identifying Wetlands of International Importance", first developed at the international Ramsar conference in Heiligenhafen in 1974 and evolving ever since, and now with the addition of a ninth Criterion at COP9 in Kampala in November 2005. The Conference of the Parties has requested, in Resolution VI.13 (1996), that all RISs be updated by the Parties at least every six years and with every significant change in the status of the site, and the latest RISs for all the roughly 1,600 Ramsar sites are available on Wetlands International's Ramsar Sites Information Service, http://www.wetlands.org/RSDB.

The English version of the Ramsar Information Sheet for 2006-2008 is now available, including all of the additions and changes adopted by COP9, and the French and Spanish versions should be along soon. It's posted in HTML, Word, and PDF versions, but officials preparing to complete the form for a site designation or update should use the Word version. Completed RISs are only accepted from the officially-designated Ramsar authorities in each Party. [18/03/06]

UN ECE Water Convention's Nature for Water publications. The secretariat of the UNECE Water Convention ("Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes", Helsinki 1992) invited the Ramsar Secretariat to participate actively in its programme on "Nature for Water". This has already lead to a number of significant outputs, including an attractive brochure that grew out of a December 2004 seminar on "the role of ecosystems as water suppliers", and now a second one on innovative financing ideas for the environment, based upon the outcomes of another seminar in October 2005. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé reports on the conclusions of the seminars and provides links to PDF versions of the two publications. Here. [17/03/06]

IMOSEB steering committee meeting, February 2006. IMOSEB -- the international mechanism of scientific expertise on biodiversity -- took a step forwards at a recent meeting of its steering committee in Paris, hosted by the French government on 21 and 22 February 2006 at the French National Museum of Natural History. The meeting was attended by representatives of governments, scientists, international organisations, and some MEAs including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Convention on Migratory Species, the World Heritage Convention, as well as the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The Secretary General, Peter Bridgewater, represented the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and provides this brief, illustrated report. [15/03/06]

Announcement. VI Simposio Internacional Humedales 2007. La Delegación Territorial del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente (CITMA) de la provincia de Matanzas y el Centro Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CNAP), invitan a participar en el VI Simposio Internacional Humedales 2007 a celebrarse desde el 5 al 9 de noviembre del 2007, en la Ciénaga de Zapata, Matanzas, Cuba. La convocatoria para envío de propuestas se encuentra abierta. Más detalles aquí. [15/03/06]

UNEP workshop on issue-based modules for MEAs, February 2006. With the assistance of Belgium, UNEP has started a project to structure available information on common topics shared between several biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The objective of the project is to facilitate the coherent implementation of the biodiversity commitments, taken under different international and regional biodiversity agreements, by all actors. The first phase of the project focused on the development of four modules on issues of common concern to the five biodiversity MEAs (the Ramsar Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on Migratory Species, Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, and the World Heritage Convention), namely inland waters, biodiversity and climate change, invasive alien species, and sustainable use. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé reports on the UNEP workshop on "issue based modules for coherent implementation of biodiversity conventions" held 20-21 February 2006 in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. [14/03/06]

International Conference on the Danube Delta. Sparked by major development projects in the Danube Delta (such as the oil terminal in Gjurgjurlesti, or the opening of the Bystre mouth of the Danube for deep water navigation), an ad hoc group of international organizations with an interest in the Danube Delta was established during a meeting at UNEP's Regional Office for Europe in September 2004 (including the Ramsar Secretariat, UNESCO, the Danube Commission ICPDR, European Commission, Council of Europe, UNECE Aarhus and Espoo Convention Secretariats, WWF, IUCN, Wetlands International and others). A fruitful cooperation began of the international group with the Ukrainian, and also the Romanian and Moldovan authorities, in preparation for this international conference, which was held on 27-28 February 2006 in Odesa (Ukraine). Intended to elaborate visions for sustainable development and mechanisms for transboundary cooperation in the Danube Delta, the conference was convened by the Government of Ukraine in cooperation with the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, under the auspices of the Danube Commission (ICPDR), and with financial support by UNESCO and the European Commission. An helpful illustrated report of the outcomes by participant Tobias Salathé, as well as the conclusions of the meeting, can be found here. [13/03/06]

Ramsar MOC with IWMI. On 28 February, Peter Bridgewater, the Secretary General, and Frank Rijsberman, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), signed a new memorandum of cooperation at the Secretariat facilities in Gland, updating the previous MOC of January 2004. IWMI recently became the Convention's fifth International Organization Partner (joining BirdLife International, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Wetlands International, and WWF International) by virtue of Resolution IX.16 at COP9 in November 2005. The text of the MOC and two photos of the signing ceremony can be seen here. [13/03/06]

Now available.Standing Committee 34 documentation. The 34th meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee will take place 10-13 April 2006 in the Secretariat facilities in Switzerland, and now, one month before the opening of the meeting, as required, the agenda papers can be seen in their glory. Click on the SC34 button to verify that -- recidivists can just use the similar button on the Ramsar front page and save a couple of clicks. [10/03/06]

Now available.Ramsar MOC with the European Environment Agency.Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, and Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, have signed a memorandum of cooperation, effective 27 February 2006, which covers a number of areas chiefly relating to the improvement, exchange, and use of Ramsar sites data. The text is available here. [09/03/06]

Mexico names 65th Ramsar site. The Secretariat is pleased to report that the Government of Mexico has designated its 65th Wetland of International Importance. According to Ramsar's Assistant Advisor for the Americas, Adrián Ruiz-Carvajal, Laguna de Atotonilco (2,850 hectares, 20º22'N 103º39'W) in Jalisco state is situated along the neovolcanic axis, and the area around the site presents geothermal springs often used for recreational activities. Noteworthy fauna includes reptiles such as a nationally endangered toad (Bufo marinus), snake (Thamnophis eques), striped lizard (Cnemidophorus communis) and an endemic frog (Rana megapoda) also considered vulnerable by IUCN. In addition, the aquatic vegetation also provides spawning ground for several fish species. Archeological excavations have unearthed rudimentary objects (arrow heads and clay figures), as well as mammoth, rhino and bison fossil remains. Deforestation and water infrastructure works are two of the greatest threats to the integrity of the site. Ramsar site No. 1607. [07/03/06]

Ramsar "Chairs Handover Meeting". On 14 February, the incoming and outgoing chairs of the Ramsar Standing Committee and its Subgroup on Finance met at the Secretariat's premises in Switzerland to carry out a "handover" of experiences for the new team in advance of the first full SC meeting (SC34), 10-13 April. As summed up by the Secretary General, Peter Bridgewater, "three of the past and present chairs met on feb 14 (with Canada, the past chair of the Subgroup on Finance, able to join by telephone), many useful items and methods of working were discussed, including setting terms of reference for the chairs and the vice-chair of standing committee, and issues dealing with the upcoming SC34. This meeting was an interesting innovation which should help to start this new triennium off to a very good start." A photo of the participants. [06/03/06]

WWD headline story. New CD on Ramsar sites in Bolivia.Omar Rocha (orocha@entelnet.bo), Director Ejecutivo, BIOTA, está escribiendo: "El Centro de Estudios en Biología Teórica y Aplicada (BIOTA) y la Dirección General de Biodiversidad del Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible de Bolivia, con el apoyo de WCS/Bolivia, WWF/Bolivia y la Convención Ramsar, conmemorando el Día Mundial de los Humedales, han lanzado dos materiales de difusión: Catálogo Bibliográfico sobre los Humedales de Bolivia.- Es un documento que incluye 915 citas bibliográficas en diferentes disciplinas relacionadas a los humedales del país, un análisis sobre la publicación de temas y las tendencias del número de publicaciones por períodos. Sitios Ramsar de Bolivia.- Es la segunda edición del CD interactivo que contiene la descripción general de los Sitios Ramsar, mapas de ubicación, características físicas, hidrológicas, flora, fauna, valores culturales, legislación boliviana sobre humedales y otros aspectos, además de una interesante serie de fotografías de los humedales." Mas. [27/02/06]

WWD headline story.World Wetlands Day in Iraq. Clayton Rubec of Environment Canada (Clay.Rubec@ec.gc.ca) and Dr. Hassan Janabi of the Iraq Ministry of Water Resources in Baghdad report that: "On February 2, 2006, colleagues in Iraq joined in celebrating World Wetlands Day for the first time. At a meeting organized by Centre for the Restoration of the Iraqi Marshes of the Ministry of Water Resources, representatives of government agencies, non-government organizations and universities discussed Iraq's programs focusing on restoration of the Mesopotamian marshes. This follows on from Iraq's stated strong commitment to Ramsar Convention goals presented by its delegation at the COP9 meetings of Ramsar in Kampala, Uganda, last November. It is expected that Iraq will be able to complete the internal mechanisms to proceed with Ramsar Convention accession within a few months. The February 2 WWD meeting was well covered by the media including local and international television. Several high profile government officials attended as well as representatives of the Marsh Arabs from the southern marshes. Presentations by the Ministry of Water Resources and Nature Iraq on the status of marsh restoration programs were included in the agenda." [23/02/06]

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 ).