The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 13 December 2010

Thailand names a marshland

The government of Thailand has designated Kut Ting Marshland as its 11th Wetland of International Importance. This Ramsar Site is located in the northeast region of Thailand and features many wetland types and habitats with a diverse array of species. Streams, lakes, marshes and flooded agricultural land are common in Kut Ting and as such, this site is a stunning example of an intact array of important wetland types in the Mekong Ecoregion. More [13/12/10]

Ramsar's Secretary General, Anada Tiéga delivered a speech today at the UNFCCC/COP16 in Cancun, Mexico. He highlighted the role of wetlands in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Read more [10/12/10]

First Terraced Landscapes Conference - Honghe, China, 11-15 November

The ‘First World Conference on Terraced Landscapes’ was held in Mengzi City, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, P.R. China from 11-15 November 2010. The meeting aimed to discuss the conservation of terraced landscapes worldwide, but with a particular focus on the Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces that lie within Honghe Prefecture. The Ramsar Convention was one of the collaborating institutions for the conference since it provided an opportunity to promote Resolution X.31 ‘Enhancing biodiversity in rice paddies as wetland systems’, and to learn more about the issues facing rice terraces farming. More [08/12/10]

First Ramsar seminar on the Faroe Islands

On 12-13 October 2010, Ms Annika Olsen, Interior Minister of the Faroe Islands Government invited Ramsar experts and representatives of local ministries for a special meeting on the Ramsar Convention. The seminar was prepared by Bergur Olson of the Faroe Marine Research Institute, based on exchanges and ideas created during this year’s Nordic-Baltic wetland conference in April in Norway. More [07/12/10]

Irish Ramsar Committee created

On 27 October 2010, the new Irish National Ramsar Committee held its constitutional meeting in Dublin. A significant development for this long-standing Contracting Party that presently has 45 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, covering marine and coastal areas, sand dunes, saltmarshes, river headwaters and estuaries, lakes, reedbeds, swamps, peat bogs and karstic limestone areas. More [06/12/10]

 Who's Where?



From 13 to 16 December DSG Nick Davidson is in Italy for the final Steering Committee meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership GEF project (in Rome), and a technical workshop (in Frascati) of the European Space Agency’s GlobWetland-II project supporting remote sensing for Ramsar wetland inventory and monitoring around the southern Mediterranean basin. [13/12/10]



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

Rep. of Korea names an open tidal flat

The Republic of Korea has designated its 13th Wetland of International Importance, Seocheon Tidal Flat (1,530 hectares; 36°00´N 126°30´E) located in the Chungcheongnam-do Province. More [02/12/10]

Third Wetland Link International (WLI) – Asia Conference Paya Indah wetlands, Malaysia, 22-25 November 2010

This 3rd conference of the WLI-Asia regional group brought together 47 participants from 9 Asian countries along with Chris Rostron, Head of WLI, Sandra Hails, Ramsar’s CEPA Programme Officer, and Max Finlayson, a member of Ramsar’s STRP. The overall aim of the conference was to share best practice at wetland centres, establish contacts between centres across the Asia region and to further develop WLI-Asia as an effective centre network. More [02/12/10]

El Salvador designates a lagoon complex

The government of El Salvador has designated Complejo Güija (10,180 ha; 14°17'N 89°29'W) as its fifth Wetland of International Importance. This Ramsar Site includes the Protected Natural Area San Diego y San Felipe Las Barras, a lagoon complex and its surrounding flooded areas. More | Español [30/11/10]

Report on the Workshop for Ramsar CEPA Focal Points in Namibia, 8-11 November 2010

This workshop was the fourth in a series for Ramsar CEPA Focal Points and the first to take place in the African continent. It brought together CEPA Focal Points and other representatives from 10 countries in southern Africa, as well as representatives from the 3 non-Contracting Parties in this sub-region, Angola, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. More [29/11/10] 

First Ramsar workshop of the African STRP National Focal Points and other wetland experts in South Africa next week

The workshop, which will be held in Johannesburg from 30 November to 2 December, will gather around 60 participants to share experience in wetland management, build a better understanding of the Ramsar Convention and STRP processes as well as advance on some key STRP tasks. More [25/11/10]

Report on the Bird Watching Festival 2010, Hong Kong Wetland Park, China

On 6 November 2010, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government organised a special event at the Hong Kong Wetland Park to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the designation of Mai Po Inner Deep Bay as Ramsar Site, which is an important feeding and resting ground for migratory waterbirds. More [24/11/10]

Preview of 'Ramsar's Liquid Assets' anniversary booklet now online

To celebrate 40 years of the Convention on Wetlands next year, the Secretariat is pleased to release the PDF versions of a commemorative booklet that will be officially launched on 2 February 2011. This 32 page booklet in the three official Convention languages is a brief reflection on, and celebration of, the evolution and achievements of the Convention since 1971.

Please write to riera@ramsar.org to receive the design files on a DVD (do not forget to include your full mailing address) if you wish to adapt or translate it. Hard cover copies will be officially launched worldwide by the Ramsar Secretariat on World Wetlands Day 2011. English |French | Spanish (PDF)

Five new Ramsar Sites in Mexico

The government of Mexico has designated five new Wetlands of International Importance, bringing Mexico’s total site amount to 119 Ramsar Sites covering 8,225,476 hectares – the Convention’s global total is 1904 Ramsar Sites covering 186,584,279 hectares. Brief descriptions of the five new sites have been prepared by the Americas team based on the Ramsar Information Sheets submitted to the Secretariat, and further information in Spanish will be available soon. More [15/11/10] 

Translation of key Ramsar documents into Russian

The Secretariat is pleased to announce the completion of translation of a set of key Ramsar documents into Russian, in response to requests by, and in consultation with our focal points in the Russian Federation and other Contracting Parties that were members of the Former Soviet Union, and where Russian is still a widely used language. More [10/11/10]

BlackSeaWet: Ramsar’s Regional Initiative for Black and Azov Seas coastal wetlands

After a first meeting of the newly established management body of this Ramsar Regional Initiative held in February this year, the governing group of this cooperation programme met again on 5-7 October 2010 in Tulcea, Romania, hosted by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority. The representatives of the countries bordering the Black and Azov Seas provided a short update on the activities by their national working groups and urged the absent countries to catch up and to establish rapidly national work programmes. More [04/11/10]

2010 SGF portfolio of project funding opportunities now available

The Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) was established in 1990 as a mechanism to assist developing countries and those with economies in transition in implementing the Convention and to support the conservation and wise use of wetland resources, with a strong human and social dimension. From 1991 to 2009 the Fund has provided a total of 7.7 million Swiss Francs to 234 projects from 108 countries, providing up to 40,000 Swiss Francs (about US$38,000) per project. More [04/11/10]

New Assistant Advisor for Europe
The Ramsar Secretariat is delighted to welcome Kati Wenzel who begins work today as Assistant Advisor for the European Region.

Nueva Consejera Asistente para Europa en la Secretaría
La Secretaría de Ramsar está encantada de desear la bienvenida a Kati Wenzel, que hoy empieza su trabajo de Consejera Asistente para la región europea.

Nouvelle Conseillère assistante pour l’Europe au Secrétariat
Le Secrétariat Ramsar a le plaisir de souhaiter la bienvenue à Kati Wenzel qui prend aujourd’hui ses fonctions de Conseillère assistante pour la Région Europe.  

More [02/11/10]

“State of the World’s Waterbirds 2010” launched at CBD COP10

At the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP10 in Nagoya, Japan, Wetlands International launched its new publication State of the World’s Waterbirds 2010. More [29/10/10]

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 ).