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Communications programme for Ramsar Sites (22/04/05)

Good afternoon CEPA list members:

Launched on World Wetlands Day in February by The Wetlands Centre (TWC) in Australia, the Wetlands Communication Program for Ramsar Sites in the state of New South Wales will be of interest to list members. Here's the story of its development and Web links to the final outputs.

A network of private and government wetland managers, with funding from the Australian Government through the Natural Heritage Trust, has developed a Ramsar Wetlands Communications Program for Ramsar Sites in the state. The network identified that there was a need to increase the awareness, appreciation and value of the Ramsar Convention as a key tool for the conservation and wise use of wetlands among government and the broader community. This communications program began on 1st July 2004 to address this need, has been funded for one year, and has been coordinated by TWC in New South Wales.

As a starting point, the Network identified the need to collect baseline data to identify the level of awareness and understanding among government stakeholders and the broader community of wetlands in general and of the Ramsar Convention. The scope of the research identified a series of objectives and key target audiences, with people encouraged to participate in a range of research methods from online surveys, telephone interviews, focus groups, visitor surveys and a desktop information review. Up to 400 people were involved in this research phase which resulted in the publication "Who Cares About Wetlands", which can be downloaded here http://www.wetlands.org.au/pdf/WhoCaresAboutOurWetlandsFinalResearchReport071204.pdf [3.08MB]

Based on the key findings of this report, a NSW Ramsar Wetlands Communications Program was developed and is currently being implemented over the next five months (January to May 2005). This is also available for download from the TWC Web site here http://www.wetlands.org.au/pdf/CommunicationsProgramFinal041216.pdf [1.2MB].

Have a restful weekend, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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