News from the CEPA e-mail list

What does it mean to be a "Ramsar" wetland? (23/07/04)

Good afternoon everyone:

Kylie Yeend, Project Officer at The Wetlands Centre (TWC), has sent me an interesting article, What does it mean to be a "Ramsar" wetland?, recently published in their magazine "The Wetlander ", that I thought was well worth sharing with everyone.

As some of you may remember The Wetlands Centre in Australia spearheaded the development of the first (and so far the only!) sub-national Ramsar Wetlands Communication Strategy (you can see it here www.ramsar.org/outreach_hunterstrategy.htm).

The Shortland Wetlands located at TWC, as well as the nearby Kooragang Nature Reserve, are part of the Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar site, and this article focuses on what this means in practical terms, presenting information on the Convention as well as the commitments involved in adhering to the Convention, all in a form readily digested by the general public.

Recognising that the Hunter Estuary Wetlands provide an excellent opportunity to promote wise use of wetlands, the article outlines the many challenges this presents and how TWC is rising to this challenge and at the same implementing the Hunter Communication Strategy.

The full text of the article is available here www.ramsar.org/caxref:729. For further information please contact Kylie directly at ramsar@wetlands.org.au.

Best weekend wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat
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Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 999 0176; Fax: +41 22 999 0169
E-mail: hails@ramsar.org
Web Site: http://ramsar.org
CEPA mini-Web site: http://ramsar.org/outreach_index.htm

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