The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 2 July 2010

The Ramsar Convention – a modern success story for nature conservation. Ramsar's Senior Advisor for Europe Tobias Salathé reports that, as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, Estonia organised an international conference in Tallinn to celebrate 100 years of contemporary nature conservation on 27-29 May 2010. More [02/07/10]

Translation of key Ramsar documents into Arabic. In response to the adoption of the conclusions and recommendations of the Cairo Statement that was elaborated during the ‘Regional Technical Meeting on Implementation of the Ramsar Convention in the Arab Region’ held from the 22 to 25 June 2009 in Cairo, Egypt, we are pleased to announce the completion of translation of the first set of documents as requested by the participants of this meeting who included representatives of the member countries of the League of Arab States as well as concerned regional and international organizations, academics and other wetland experts. More [30/06/10]

RTR on wetland inventory now available.The importance of knowing where wetlands are, and what characterstics they have, has long been recognized by the Parties to the Ramsar Convention as providing the vital basis for many aspects of implementing the Convention successfully. A Framework for a Wetland Inventory Metadatabase provides an important contribution to achieving this goal and is now available as a Ramsar Technical Report in PDF format (English only). More [29/06/10]

The “Nakdong Estuary Eco Centre” in Busan, South Korea, celebrated its third anniversary on 12 June. The “Nakdong Estuary Eco Centre” (NEEC), built in 2007 in Busan, South Korea, invited Ramsar’s Secretary General, Anada Tiéga, to visit its special exhibition on the occasion of the Centre’s third anniversary. More [25/06/10]

"Managing for Change: The Present and Future States of the Marshes of Southern Iraq". This recent report represents one component of a five-year project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to support international efforts to restore the important wetlands ecosystem that was drained by the Iraqi government in the early 1990s. The report summarizes the drastic changes in the Marshes since 1973, both in terms of Marsh extent and Marsh health. It also identifies the key factors that need to be addressed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Marshes and outlines recommendations needed to stabilize and restore these valuable wetlands. The report can be downloaded via this link: http://www.iraqimarshlands.org/

The Nature Conservancy is seeking to recruit a Programme Manager for the Zambezi Basin. The programme is one of the Nature Conservancy’s key projects within its Africa Region. The position works closely with the Africa Region staff, other divisions of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), government agencies, regional institutions, NGOs, multilateral and bilateral agencies, land and water managers, communities and the private sector.

See full details on Terms of Reference here. Interested candidates should send their CV and a cover letter explaining the reasons of their interest and the skills he/she would bring to the position to Raquel Seybert (raquel.seybert@gmail.com), Environmental Consultant at the Nature Conservancy, by 15 July 2010.

Having a Ramsar site – it’s your development opportunity! In 2008, the natural floodplains along the Upper Rhine, shared between Germany and France, became the largest Transboundary Ramsar Site so far. More [18/06/10]

New Intergovernemental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) approved in Busan, Korea, 7-11 June. Delegates from close to 90 countries gathered last week in Busan, Korea, to approve the formation of an independent platform to conduct periodic assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services, critically important for sustainable development and current and future human well-being. More [18/06/10]

Americas Important Bird Area (IBA) book now available. The Americas Important Bird Area (IBA) book was launched last month in Washington DC at the Interamerican Development Bank by the IDB president Sr Moreno. The book provides a concise summary of 2,345 IBAs - priority sites for biodiversity conservation - in 40 national (or overseas territory) chapters.

The IBA directory is available in pdf (including all intro chapters) here: http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/sites/american_ibas/americas-ibas-downloads.html

The book includes IBAs from all of the Americas island areas: the Caribbean, Revillagigedo Islands, Juan Fernandez islands, Galapagos, Falklands, Cocos etc. A more detailed treatment of the Caribbean IBAs was published in 2008, and is also available for download through BirdLife's datazone (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html) by searching on the appropriate Caribbean island. [16/06/10]

Wetland conservation in the Nordic-Baltic region leading the way. The government of Norway invited its Nordic-Baltic neighbours to a conference in Brekstad from 12-15 April to take stock on progress with wetland conservation work, increasing of wetland awareness and the remaining challenges. The conference was also the occasion to visit parts of the Ramsar Site N°310 Ørland Wetland System, composed of a series of coastal wetland ecosystems, and the Været Landscape Protected Area in the Tarva archipelago that would merit inclusion into an extended Ramsar Site. More [16/06/10]

Hawizeh Marsh placed on the Montreux Record. The Hawizeh Marsh Ramsar site (designated 17/10/07; Basra, Amara; 137,700 ha; 31°25'N 047°38'E), has been placed on the Montreux Record by the government of the Republic of Iraq on 28 April, 2010. This is as a result of lowering water level in the marsh due to excessive drainage in the 1990s which subsequent restoration efforts have not been able to fully reverse... More [15/06/10]

 Who's Where?





Nick Davidson, DSG, is in Salt Lake City - Utah, USA, from 27 June to 2 July participating in the 2010 meeting of the Society for Wetland Scientists (SWS). [24/06/10]

For more old Ramsar Secretariat travel news, see also 'Who Was Where', 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Chile has listed its 12th Wetland of International Importance, Juncal Andean Park (13,796 ha). This High Andean site is located in Chile’s central zone on the Andes mountain range between 2500 and above 5000 m altitude. It comprises a hydric network counting rivers, streams, glaciers, Andean vegas, and underground springs. More | Español [15/06/10]

Lao People's Democratic Republic becomes the 160th Contracting Party of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Secretariat is delighted to announce that Lao PDR has completed the accession formalities with UNESCO and has joined the Ramsar Convention, as amended by the Protocol of 1982, as its 160th Contracting Party. The Convention will enter into force for Lao DPR on 28 September 2010. More [14/06/10]

New web tool shows critical migratory waterbird sites need urgent protection. A new website launched today by Wetlands International, BirdLife International and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) reveals major gaps in the protection of many critical sites used by migratory waterbirds across Africa the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia. A staggering one-third of the critical sites (representing over 1,000 individual sites within the network) are entirely unprotected, putting the future of many migratory waterbirds at risk. More [14/06/10]

The Water Research Commission (WRC) launches a new series of integrated tools for effective management and rehabilitation of wetlands. The challenges of wetland management and rehabilitation span a range of spatial scales and institutional levels, from the national and provincial to the level of specific wetland sites involving individual landowners.

The WET-Management Series is a set of integrated tools for assisting users to achieve well-informed and effective wetland management and rehabilitation. More [11/06/10]

Wetlands International is recruiting a new Programme Director - South East Asia, to be stationed in Malaysia.

Wetlands International is seeking an enthusiastic and qualified individual with passion and commitment to nature conservation to join our team as Programme Director – Southeast Asia. You can access the vacation announcement here. [09/06/10]

"Achieving Carbon Offsets through Mangroves and Other Wetlands” – expert workshop report now available.

As part of implementing the “Danone Fund for Nature”(DFN) – a partnership between the Danone Group, IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Ramsar Convention – an expert workshop was held in Gland, Switzerland in November 2009. The workshop brought together those directly involved in the implementation of the Danone Fund for Nature with a wider group of experts from other organizations, including Ramsar’s Scientific & Technical Review Panel (STRP), with expertise in one or more aspects of mangrove restoration, wetland restoration, carbon measurement (in mangroves and other types of wetland), and carbon offsets and markets, for the purpose of reviewing and advising on the further development of the Danone/IUCN/Ramsar initiative in the context of other wetland-related carbon storage and offsets initiatives and projects, and with a particular focus on mangroves. More [08/06/10]

The Ramsar Convention kicks off a global celebration of 40 years of conserving wetlands. 2nd February is World Wetlands Day - this we all know. But there’s something special about WWD 2011: it’s the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. At the Secretariat we are well ahead with our planning for the Convention’s birthday and we hope our news today will help you, the Ramsar family, to become fully involved and use this opportunity to raise the profile of Ramsar and wetlands in your country. More [07/06/10]

Ramsar signs a Memorandum of Cooperation with UNEP-WCMC

Secretary General Anada Tiéga and Jon Hutton, Director, United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), signed a MoC in Ramsar' offices in Gland, Switzerland, on 4 June 2010. More [04/06/10]

IUCN inaugurated its new 'green building' this afternoon in Gland, Switzerland. The whole team of the Ramsar Secretariat would like to congratulate their colleagues at IUCN for the successful conclusion of a challenging effort in inaugurating today a new sustainable office building, which will extend the headquarters by combining the existing Jura Wing, where Ramsar’s offices are located, and the new Lake Wing building – IUCN's new Conservation Centre. 

Ramsar’s Secretary General, Anada Tiéga, takes this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to new incomers in the building who are part of the conservation community – the MAVA Foundation and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

More information about the inauguration and the innovative features of the new building is available here. [04/06/10]

Ramsar's Secretary-General participates in two roundtables in Geneva to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity and World Environment Day on 4 and 5 June 2010.  

In 2002, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. Today we notice alarming biodiversity declines showing that world leaders are failing to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. As an environmental community it is now more important than ever to convince people, from governments to local communities, that biological diversity belongs to us all and our survival as a species depends on it. More [04/06/10]

Ramsar expert team visits Poyang Lake, P.R. China. The Jiangxi Provincial Forestry Department, P.R. China, invited the Ramsar Convention Secretariat to form a team of experts from the Convention, ICF, IUCN and WWF to visit the Poyang Lake Ramsar site from 12 – 17 April 2010. This was due to concerns that the normal decline in winter water levels of the lake has been occurring much earlier and this period of decline was lasting longer than previously. More [31/05/10]

Constructed Wetland Association organizes a meeting in June on wastewater management and the application of constructed wetlands. Wetland specialists from across the globe will be presenting the latest developments in the use of constructed wetlands on 22-24th June 2010, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, UK. This event will be particularly useful if you are considering using wetlands but are unsure of the technology; you are studying or have an interest in further developments and advances in wetland technology.  View the programme [28/05/10]

Greece and Turkey agree to collaborate on Evros Ramsar site. Last week, Thymio Papayannis, MedWet/Com Honorary Member, informed the Ramsar Secretariat about the signature of a Joint Declaration between Greece and Turkey on collaboration concerning the Evros / Maritsa / Meriç River. The Declaration was signed in Athens on 14 May by the two Ministers of Environment in the presence of Prime Ministers Erdogan and Papandreou. More [25/05/10]

Feedback and suggestions are welcome to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ).