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Asian Wetland Symposium 2008 - calling for abstracts (21/12/07)

Good morning everyone:

Coming up next year is the 4th Asian Wetland Symposium (AWS) which will take place in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Previous AWS symposia have helpfully brought together key wetland actors in the region - national and local governments, NGOs, scientific experts, the private sector, and local and indigenous people - to help identify priorities in wetland management. The recommendations of the previous Asian Wetland Symposiums have provided valuable guidance to the Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention.

The symposium is jointly organized by the Ramsar Centre Japan together with the Government of Vietnam, with the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and in partnership with the Government of Japan though the Ministry of the Environment, IUCN - The World Conservation Union and Wetlands International, and with other supporting agencies and organizations including the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF) and the Hokkaido River Disaster Prevention Research Center.

Under the theme Wetlands - The heart of Asia the meeting will focus on:

* Creating healthy wetlands and effective wetlands management
* Transboundary cooperation in wetlands management
* Wetlands and sustainable agriculture
* Integrating wetland conservation into development
* Wetlands and sustainable livelihoods
* Education for wetlands
* Cultural heritage and wetland management
* Climate change and wetlands; Impacts, adaptation and mitigation
* A special session will also focus on the wetlands of Vietnam featuring the deltas, coasts and the relationship between wetlands and the life and culture of the Vietnamese people.

The organizers of the symposium are now calling for papers with a deadline for submission of abstracts on 15th March. Full details of the costs, dates, deadlines, programme etc. are available on the symposium web site here http://www.aws2008.net/.

With best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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