The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 4 January 2000

Headline story. Inaugurating the Annotated Ramsar List. A long time ago, the Secretary General expressed his distinguished dissatisfaction at the fact that, on trips, he had either to carry with him the bare Ramsar List (22 pages printout, updated daily, available here), comprising only the basic information on Ramsar sites round the world, OR the entire 4-volume Directory of Wetlands of International Importance, and its 1996 update, and the CD-ROM version produced by Wetlands International in 1999. Mr Delmar Blasco insisted upon having, soon, a version of the Ramsar List that would include one fruitful paragaph of interesting information about every Ramsar site in the world, but no more than that. Well, a few years later, the Annotated Ramsar List is almost ready for publication, and its Web-based cousin is poised to begin the New Millennium in an astonishing fashion. The Secretary General, and you too, can view the first few entries here. Happy New Year. [04/01/00]

The Ramsar Bureau takes this opportunity to wish everyone 'happy holidays' and a brilliant new year. For the Convention on Wetlands, the old millennium ends with the satisfaction of having achieved the significant results of the 7th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and the new millennium begins with the challenges, at the global, regional, national, and local levels, of building upon that progress and implementing the Convention's mission to the greatest extent possible over the next triennium. The Bureau staff wish everyone in the "Ramsar family" round the world a restful and happy end of the year and a lot of energy for the next one. (01/01/00)

Headline story. New bookmarks help to promote the Convention. We've made some new 21x7cm bookmarks to help introduce new fans to the Convention and remind old friends of the Ramsar mission every time they pick up their Harlequin romances. Designed by Saatchi & Saatchi, the bookmarks feature a little text about wetland benefits in the three Ramsar languages on one side (photo left), and the Convention's mission statement on the other. These lovely little handouts are available from Valerie Higgins of the Ramsar Bureau (higgins@ramsar.org) in any reasonable quantities to anyone who wishes to gaze at them daily and help to find the widest possible audience for them. Photos came from the World Wide Fund for Nature / Canon Photolibrary project, and the whole thing was paid for from Ramsar's Evian Project, courtesty of the private sector Danone Group. (23/12/99)

Who's Where?

Rebecca D'Cruz, Regional Coordinator for Asia, is in Cambodia, 10-19 December 1999, in order to follow up on her recent Lao/China mission and make preparations for the forthcoming Evian mission to that country. (15/12/99)

New on the Site: The French version of the Small Grants Fund Guidelines for 2000-2002; belatedly, COP7 National Reports from Malawi and Mali, which were submitted to the Bureau in hardcopy only; latest draft of the proposed Joint Work Plan 2000-2001 between Ramsar and the CBD. (1/1/00)

Lelystad offers a new course on wetland restoration. The Wetland Advisory and Training Centre in Lelystad, The Netherlands -- host of the famously successful annual International Courses on Wetland Management (Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management: Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment, RIZA) -- announces the first International Course on Wetland Restoration, set for 14 June-11 July 2000 in Lelystad. The course will focus on degraded freshwater water systems (marshes, bogs, rivers and lakes) and ways to approach their restoration. The deadline for applications is 1 February 2000, so it will soon be time to get off the duff. WATC courses are solidly based upon Ramsar principles and guidelines, and the Ramsar Secretary General chairs the Board in an advisory capacity. The attractive course brochure is available from watc@riza.rws.minvenw.nl. (21/12/99)

United Kingdom names its 149th Ramsar site. The UK now has 149 Ramsar sites, 14.7% of the world's total -- the 34 Contracting Parties that can boast only of their one obligatory Ramsar site may look to the UK as an example to be emulated. The Arun Valley site (529 ha) consists of 3 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in an area of wet meadows on the floodplain of the River Arun between Pulborough and Amberley, subject to occasional flooding, dissected by a network of ditches, several of which support rich aquatic flora and invertebrate fauna. The site is of outstanding ornithological importance for wintering waterfowl and breeding waders. It supports 7 wetland invertebrate species that are listed as threatened in Britain, one of which is endangered, and there are 4 nationally rare and 4 nationally scarce plant species. Much of the site is currently under appropriate management through organizations such as the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, but influencing private landowners on management issues will continue to be important. Recreational activities include birdwatching and walking, and a visitor’s center, bird hides, and a tea shop are present. This is the UK’s 149^th Ramsar site and the 1011^th Ramsar site globally. (19/12/99)

Ramsar Bureau seeks Development Assistance Officer. This is a NEW position in the Bureau (not just someone who's gone missing in the early evening fog and failed to show up for the staff bus). The purpose of the DAO post is not to raise funds for projects to be managed by the Convention secretariat, but rather to generate a more significant flow of resources for wetland issues towards developing countries and countries with economies in transition through existing channels -- a Grade 12 position in the IUCN scale, which is nothing to sneeze at. If you are extremely skilled at making lots of money for others, this may be the ideal situation for you, or for someone you know.  (11/12/99) [The position has been filled.]

Dr Luc Hoffmann, one of Ramsar's 'Founding Fathers', earns another honor. On Tuesday, 7 December 1999, at the Greek Embassy in Paris, Dr. Luc Hoffmann was given the insignia of Commander of the Order of Merit, a title awarded to him by the President of the Republic of Greece. The Ambassador stressed in his presentation the catalytic contribution of Luc Hoffmann in such international organisations as WWF, IUCN, IWRB [now Wetlands International AEME], the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Tour du Valat research station, and the International Foundation for the Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania). Here's some more info. (11/12/99)

The Philippines designates superb coral reef site. The Government of the Philippines has designated its fourth Ramsar site (the Convention's 1010th), the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park (33,200 hectares), located in the middle of the Central Sulu Sea about 150 kilometres southeast of Puerto Princesa City. The Tubbataha reefs are well-known amongst fishermen in the southern Philippines and scuba divers around the world. ‘Tubbataha’ means a long reef exposed at low tide, and this is considered the largest coral reef atoll in the Philippines, harboring a diversity of marine life equal to or greater than any such area in the world. Some 46 coral genera and more than 300 coral species have been recorded, as well as at least 40 families and 379 species of fish. Sea turtles, sharks, tuna, dolphins, and jackfish are also found in the reefs. No permanent residents are found within the Park, but indigenous inhabitants of Cagayancillo periodically visit the reefs to collect the eggs of nesting birds such as boobies, and scuba diving, snorkeling, and sport fishing are popular activities despite the relative inaccessibility of the area. There has been considerable damage in recent years because of rampant use of destructive fishing using dynamite and cyanide. The Park was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1993. (9/12/99)

Four wetlands-related meetings held in Nanchang, China. Mr. Li Lukang of Wetlands International-China Programme reports that in late November a series of meeting related to wetlands were held in Nanchang City, China. They were the Third Meeting of the Shorebird Working Group, the Strategy Implementation Workshop to Promote Migratory Waterbird Conservation, the Fourth Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee, and the Annual Meeting of Cooperation on Migratory Waterbird among China-Japan-Australia. The participants who took part in one or more meetings were from China, Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, Russia, Korea, as well as from the Ramsar Convention Bureau and Wetlands International. A field trip was organized to Poyang Lake, one of the 7 Ramsar Sites in China (photo). (7/12/99)

You need this brochure! The RSPB, WWF-UK, English Nature, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and ERM, have got together a superb new 12-page full-color brochure called No place to go?: The impact of climate change on wildlife. Heavy on pix but with well-written text as well, the brochure provides a very easily assimilated view of the greenhouse future, and points the best way forward. If you'd like to obtain one or more copies, try John.Lanchbery@rspb.org.uk and hope for the best. (8/12/99)

.Announcements. Wetlands International AEME's West Africa Programme announces three vacancies for Dakar. Wetlands International is seeking a Database Officer, an Education and Awareness Officer, and a Publications Officer for its West Africa Programme based in Dakar, Senegal.  Here's the general notice and the terms of reference for each of the three posts. [9/12/99][The positions have been filled.]

UNFCCC subsidiary body invites further cooperation.  On 30 October, in connection with the 5th COP of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 11th session of the UNFCCC's Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) produced recommendations under Agenda item 11(c) on Cooperation with Relevant International Organizations: Other Conventions, notably UNEP, CCD, and Ramsar, and agreed the following point: "The SBSTA requested the secretariat to liaise with the secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands on the specific issues identified in the oral report delivered by the representative of that secretariat in order to determine how cooperation between the conventions could be strengthened. The SBSTA further requested the secretariat to report back to it on this matter at its twelfth session." The Bureau of the Ramsar Convention eagerly anticipates developing further cooperative relationships with the UNFCCC, as it has done already with the secretariats of the CBD, CCD, CMS, and World Heritage Convention. [6/12/99]

The Republic of the Philippines has designated the 1008th and 1009th Wetlands of International Importance to the Ramsar List, effective 12 November 1999: Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro (14,568 ha) and The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary (14,836 ha) in Mindanao. A third site has been put forward as well and is only pending submission of adequates maps before being appended to the Ramsar List. Here are the details. [6/12/99]

Standing Committee goes bye-bye.  The 24th meeting of the Standing Committee to the Ramsar Convention is now over, and Bureau staff are sleeping round the clock and in some cases applying for sick leave. The 60-odd delegates from the SC Member and Permanent Observer States, partner NGOs, and Observer States, left behind something like 30 SC24 decisions, many of which are significant and some of which are extremely important, and the Convention on Wetlands can now proceed in an orderly fashion. The Report will be ready soon -- in the meantime, here are some quick results: the Secretary General's tenure was renewed for another 3 years, various budgets and work plans were approved with suitable amendments, the National Reporting mechanism for 2002 was approved, lots of Small Grants Fund allocations were authorized, the creation of a Development Assistance Officer position in the Bureau was approved, two Subgroups were formed to study a couple of issues further, and a number of special projects from AEWA, Wetlands International, and the Global Action Plan on Peatlands were formally endorsed.  An official report will follow, not to mention lots of kinky photos taken by Valerie Higgins and Alexander Belokurov of the secretariat, whose discovery of the Bureau's digital camera seems to have transformed his life, doubtfully for the better.  (Stephen Hunter of Australia, Chair of the Standing Committee, welcomes the participants on Day 1 and cautions them on the sheer bulk of the impending agenda. Photo: V. Higgins) [4/12/99]

.Announcements. International Crane Foundation posts vacancy notice. Consulting Position: Regional Project Coordinator for GEF Wetlands Project. The International Crane Foundation (ICF) invites applications for a GEF Regional Project Coordinator for a Siberian Crane Wetland PDF-B project. This consultant position will work closely with ICF, United Nations Environment Program, and the Convention on Migratory Species for the achievement of project objectives, results, and all fundamental aspects of project execution.  [27/11/99] [The position has been filled.]

South Africa's St Lucia system gains World Heritage status.  Geoff Cowan, STRP member from the Administrative Authority in South Africa, writes: "The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park has been successfully inscribed in the list of World Heritage Sites. This site includes four of South Africa's Ramsar sites - the St Lucia System, Lake Sibaya, the Turtle Beaches and Coral Reefs of Tongaland, and the Kosi Bay System. I believe this extra recognition of the importance of these wetland systems will only help us in our efforts to conserve them."  See the press release right here. [3/12/99]

Belarus becomes the Convention’s 117^th Contracting Party. UNESCO has informed the Bureau that it has received from the Government of Belarus a declaration of succession to the former Soviet Union and the Ramsar Information Sheet accompanying its designation of "Sporovsky Biological Reserve (‘zakaznik’)" as its first Ramsar site. The 19,384-hectare site is situated in the floodplain of the middle course of the Yaselda River, 2km south of the town of Beryoza in the Brest region. It includes one of the largest lowland mesotrophic sedge fen mires in Europe. On much of the mire the hydrological regime has been disrupted by drainage canal systems, but much of the site "appears to be in a condition very close to the natural one". It represents one of the largest European habitats of the Aquatic Warbler, a globally threatened species. The land belongs to the state and is rented by about 20 collective farms and forestry enterprises; in 1999 it was declared a biological reserve of national importance, with all drainage and land reclamation prohibited and economic uses of the land officially regulated. A UK Darwin Initiative-funded project, carried out by the UK’s RSPB and the Belarus Society for the Protection of Birds, is making a number of scientific studies of the site and will develop a management plan. [30/11/99]

New Ramsar Intern for Asia arrives in the Bureau.Taeko Takahashi of Japan has taken up her duties as "Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Asia", replacing Ms Parastu Mirabzadeh of Iran. Some welcome!!--Right in the middle of the Standing Committee meetings! Ms Takahashi has a postgraduate degree in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and spent time working as a research assistant at the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development in the United States. Most recently, Ms Takahashi has been researching the destructive impacts of shrimp farming on mangrove ecosystems and the impact of foreign direct investment on environmental standards. She spent a summer with UNIDO in Austria, working on sustainable development projects, and has worked as a volunteer with the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the USA. She speaks Japanese and English, with knowledge of  Spanish and Russian. Taeko is very very welcome in the Bureau - - -  almost as much as Parastu will be missed! (Photo: Taeko Takahashi, left, with Rebecca D'Cruz and Parastu Mirabzadeh earlier today.) [1/12/99]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions to: the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Updated regularly by Dwight Peck, Ramsar Bureau.