Ramsar Handbooks for the wise use of wetlands

The Ramsar Handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, 4th edition

This 4th edition of the Ramsar handbooks replaces all previous editions of this series. It includes relevant guidance adopted by several meetings of the Conference of the Parties, in particular COP7 (1999), COP8 (2002), COP9 (2005), and COP10 (2008), as well as selected background documents presented at these COPs.

This series has been prepared by the Secretariat of the Convention following each of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP7, COP8, COP9, and COP10) held, respectively, in San José, Costa Rica, in May 1999; Valencia, Spain, in November 2002; Kampala, Uganda, in November 2005; and Changwon, Republic of Korea, in October-November 2008. The guidelines on various matters formally adopted by the Parties at those COPs have been prepared as a series of handbooks to assist those with an interest in, or directly involved with, implementation of the Convention at the international, regional, national, subnational or local levels.

Each handbook brings together, subject by subject, the various relevant guidances adopted by the Parties, supplemented by additional material from COP information papers, case studies and other relevant publications in order to illustrate key aspects of the guidelines. The handbooks have been published in PDF format in the three working languages of the Convention (English, French, and Spanish); in addition, some volumes have been translated into additional languages, when circumstances have permitted (Arabic and Russian, see menu here).

The Ramsar Convention Handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, 4th ed. (2010)
Convention pillar 1: Wise Use
Handbook 1	Wise use of wetlands Concepts and approaches for the wise use of wetlands
Handbook 2	National Wetland Policies Developing and implementing National Wetland Policies
Handbook 3	Laws and institutions Reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands
Handbook 4	Avian influenza and wetlands Guidance on control of and responses to highly pathogenic avian influenza
Handbook 5	Partnerships Key partnerships for implementation of the Ramsar Convention
Handbook 6	Wetland CEPA The Convention’s Programme on communication, education, participation, and public awareness (CEPA) 2009-2015
Handbook 7	Participatory skills Establishing and strengthening local communities’ and indigenous people’s participation in the management of wetlands
Handbook 8	Water-related guidance An Integrated Framework for the Convention’s water-related guidance
Handbook 9	River basin management Integrating wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management
Handbook 10	Water allocation and management Guidelines for the allocation and management of water for maintaining the ecological functions of wetlands
Handbook 11	Managing groundwater Managing groundwater to maintain wetland ecological character
Handbook 12	Coastal management Wetland issues in Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Handbook 13	Inventory, assessment, and monitoring An Integrated Framework for wetland inventory, assessment, and monitoring
Handbook 14	Data and information needs A Framework for Ramsar data and information needs
Handbook 15	Wetland inventory A Ramsar framework for wetland inventory and ecological character description
Handbook 16	Impact assessment Guidelines on biodiversity-inclusive environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment
Convention pillar 2: Ramsar sites designation and management
Handbook 17	Designating Ramsar Sites Strategic Framework and guidelines for the future development of the List of Wetlands of International Importance
Handbook 18	Managing wetlands Frameworks for managing Ramsar Sites and other wetlands
Handbook 19	Addressing change in wetland ecological character Addressing change in the ecological character of Ramsar Sites and other wetlands
Convention pillar 3: International cooperation
Handbook 20	International cooperation Guidelines and other support for international cooperation under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Companion document
Handbook 21	The Ramsar Convention Strategic Plan 2009-2015 Goals, strategies, and expectations for the Ramsar Convention’s implementation for the period 2009 to 2015
	All 21 Handbooks in PDF format in one .ZIP file

Note: The Handbook pages are laid out for A4 size paper printed at 100%; readers intending to print to "letter-size" (8.5x11") paper should set their Acrobat printer set-up to "scale to fit" or something similar.

Copyright © 2010, Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Citation: Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2010. Ramsar handbooks for the wise use of wetlands, 4th edition. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland.

Reproduction of material from this publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior permission from the Ramsar Secretariat, providing full acknowledgement is given.

Series Editor: Dave Pritchard
Series Supervisor: Nick Davidson
Design and layout: Dwight Peck

Additional support for the French and Spanish versions: Danièle and Richard Devitre, Javier Casáis