The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 9 March 2010

Ramsar signs MoU with the Organization of American States (OAS). Secretary General Anada Tiéga and Mr Cletus Springer, Director, Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the GS/OAS Executive Secretarial for Integral Development at the OAS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, on 17 February. Read more. [08/03/10]

Ramsar signs MoU with the Stetson University College of Law (Florida, United States). Ramsar signs MoU with the Stetson University College of Law (Florida, United States). Secretary General Anada Tiéga and the Dean and University Vice President of Stetson, Darby Dickerson, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 18 February. Read more. [08/03/10]

New publication: Wetlands for the Future. The Ramsar Secretariat is pleased to announce the launching of the publication “Wetlands for the Future Fund: Benefitting Wetland Management and Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Read more. [05/03/10]

Joint Cuba/Iran Ramsar sites stamp.  Over the years a number of countries around the world have issued postage stamps featuring the Ramsar Convention and Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). Here is the latest, jointly issued in 2008 by Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in commemoration of a collaboration mission. Read more. [05/03/10]

Who's Where?


Tobias Salathé, Senior Regional Advisor for Europe, is in Georgia from 7 to 12 March to meet with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and local NGOs as part of the preparations for SC41 meeting (26 April to 1 May). Tobias will be in Rome from 14 to 16 March to take part in the Steering Group meeting of the Mediterranean Wetlands initiative.  [08/03/10]

Mireille Katz, Executive Assistant to the Secretary General, is currently attending the meetings with the MoE in Georgia and will be back in the office on 15 March. [08/03/10]

From 8 to 12 March, Deputy Secretary General Nick Davidson will be participating in the final Partners Meeting and Steering Committee meeting of the “Wings over Wetlands” (WOW) African-Eurasian waterbird flyways GEF-funded project in South Africa.  [08/03/10]

María Rivera, Senior Regional Advisor for the Americas, participates in the Mesoamerican Congress on Protected Areas, taking place in Mérida, México, from 9 to 12 March. On 16 of March, María will be attending a workshop on Wetlands and Climate Change Latin America and the Caribbean in Veracruz, Mexico, organized by the World Bank. [08/03/10]

María attended the 13th International Living Lakes Conference in Guadalajara, 22-23 March in Mexico. 

From 24 to 27 March, Maria is taking part in a meeting of the Ramsar regional initiative “Integrated Management and Sustainable Use of Mangrove Ecosystems in the Americas”, Mexico City. The meeting is attended by the Ramsar Americas team and the Spanish Contracting Parties of Central, Caribbean and South America. [23/03/10]  

Lew Young, Senior Regional Advisor for Asia/Oceania, is in Turkmenbashi City, Turkmenistan, from 23 to 27 March 2010 to attend a conference on “the value of the ‘Altyn Asyr’ Turkmen Lake in improving ecological status of the region”. The conference is organized by the Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Water use and Academy of Science of Turkmenistan. 

During his visit, Lew will also visit the Turkmenbashy Bay Ramsar site, which is the wetland that Turkmenistan listed as its first Wetland of International Importance when it acceded to the Convention in 2009. [18/03/10]

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

Yesterday's News

Ramsar’s STRP meets for its 2010 ‘mid-term workshops’. The Convention’s Scientific & Technical Review Panel (STRP) met in the Secretariat/IUCN offices in Gland, Switzerland from 22-26 February 2010 for its ‘mid-term workshops’ to further progress its 2009-2012 Work Plan. Some 50 STRP members, invited experts and representatives of observer organizations gathered to review and undertake substantive work on the wide range of high priority and other tasks requested of it by Parties at COP10. Read more. [03/03/10]

 WWD in Botswana. In the context of the international symposium “Wetlands in a Flood Pulsing Environment: Effects on and responses in biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and human society”, held 1-5 February 2010 in Maun, Botswana and reported elsewhere, long-time Ramsar STRP member Prof. Max Finlayson, Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University in Australia, presented an overview of the Ramsar Convention and World Wetlands Day and their relations with Botswana. The text of his presentation can be seen here. [03/03/10]

 Sad News: Mr. Sam Hamilton. It is with great sadness that the Ramsar Secretariat learnt of the death of Mr. Sam Hamilton, head of our Administrative Authority in the United States, who died on 21 of February 2010 whilst skiing in Colorado. The Ramsar Secretariat and especially the Team for the Americas send our focal point in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mr. Hamilton´s family, colleagues and friends, our most sincere condolences for this sad loss.  Let them be assured that Mr. Hamilton will be remembered as an excellent colleague and friend of the Ramsar family. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) gave him its lowest possible rating for environmental integrity. From the Washington Post. [24/02/10]

Secretario General de la Convención de Ramsar visita Panamá. El Secretario General de la Convención de Ramsar, Dr. Anada Tiega visitó Panamá, del 9 al 12 de febrero de 2010, acompañado de María Rivera, Consejera para las Américas. Informe. [24/02/10]

Ramsar Secretary General visits Panama. Mr. Anada Tiega, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, arrived in Panama on February 9th 2010 for a three day visit, accompanied by Maria Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas. Report.

Now available. Ramsar Advisory Mission report: Marromeu Complex. The Ramsar Convention Secretariat was informed in 2008 of potential threats to Mozambique’s only Ramsar Site, the Marromeu Complex in the Zambezi Delta, from oil and gas prospecting activities. In 2009 the government of Mozambique invited the Secretariat to activate the Ramsar Advisory Mission procedure in response. A team of Dave Pritchard, Abou Bamba, and Francisco Rilla visited the site and undertook consultations there and at national, provincial and district level from 16-20 August 2009. This report summarises the Mission’s findings and presents 24 recommendations for short- and long-term action. [23/02/10].

Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007. Wetlands International has recently published the ‘Status of Waterbirds in Asia: Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987-2007’. This report summarizes the results of the Asian Waterbird Count from 1987 to 2007 that was conducted at 6,705 sites in 27 countries. A total of 1,387 sites were found to meet at least one of two criteria of internationally important sites according to the Ramsar Convention. Of these, 312 sites were reported to support more than 20,000 waterbirds, and 1,382 sites recorded more than 1% of the biogeographic population of at least one species of waterbird. Further information on the report can be found through the Wetlands International website where the report can also be downloaded. [23/02/10]

Ramsar’s new Communications Officer. The Secretariat is looking forward to welcoming Ms Oana Penea as our new Communications Officer, as of 1 March. Oana comes to Ramsar after 3 years as Communication Officer, Publications and Information Unit at the Global Forum for Health Research in Geneva where, among other tasks, she was in charge of developing a more interactive Web site. She was responsible for reviewing all public information posted on the site and is familiar with Ramsar’s system of publishing electronic documents, working with translators, and writing for and coordinating the Web content. Oana’s earlier communications experience came from working with the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa (AMICAALL, based in Geneva) and with UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services).

Oana is Romanian by birth, but has spent most of her life in Switzerland, with both Swiss and Romanian nationalities. She is bilingual in French and Romanian and has excellent English, having taken a Master of Arts in English language and literature and French language and literature at the University of Lausanne. Oana is replacing in the Communications post soon-to-be-semi-retired Dwight Peck, who will be staying on at Ramsar on a part-time basis as Documentation Officer, responsible for editing and layout of official documents and Ramsar publications, amongst other things. [22/02/10]

Ramsar signs MOU with the World Bank. Secretary General Anada Tiéga and Mr Hartwig Schafer, Acting Vice President, Sustainable Development Network, at the World Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, on 16 February, the purpose of which is to "establish a framework of cooperation between Ramsar and the World Bank in exchange of technical expertise and capacity building related to the development and implementation of climate change projects in wetlands in the context of the World Bank-financed climate change portfolio". Amongst Ramsar's roles will be to provide technical support for the assessment, formulation, and development of climate change projects in wetlands in the geographical areas of wetland projects in the World Bank portfolio; to assist in the development of tools and methodologies to assess the magnitude of carbon sinks in mangroves; to support the development of the wetlands typology and protocol for assessing net carbon storage or CO2 emissions under different conditions; and to prepare jointly publications on the findings of the cooperation. The text of the agreement can be seen here (PDF). [19/02/10]

Audubon Sanctuary celebrates Ramsar designation. Audubon of Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, home of the largest stand of old-growth Bald Cypress trees in North America, hosted a celebration of its listing as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention on Thursday, 18 February. Ramsar's Secretary General Anada Tiéga was there to present the Ramsar site certificate to the assembled notables and applaud their efforts. Here is the story, from the Naples (Florida) News, and here is a press release (PDF) from Audubon of Florida. [19/02/10] Some photos.

New WOW Publication Showcases “Flyway Conservation at Work – Across Africa and Eurasia”. The third annual newsletter of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) UNEP-GEF African-Eurasian Flyways Project has now been printed and is available from the WOW Project Coordination Unit upon request. The publication gives an overview of the WOW project and the latest achievements of this unique flyway initiative in the African-Eurasian region. The newsletter showcases the important flyway-scale conservation work and materials being developed under the project. Read more. [18/02/10]

Transboundary Ramsar Site managers meet in Strasbourg. To profit from accumulated experience in international cooperation in Ramsar site management, the Alsace Regional Council and the regional office of the French Ministry of Ecology invited Ramsar site authorities to share their views -- this led forty managers of transboundary Ramsar sites in Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Germany, Latvia, Luxemburg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine to meet on 29 January 2010 in Strasburg, just prior to the World Wetlands Day celebrations in their home countries. Tobias Salathé's illustrated news report is here, and Edith Wenger's official summary of the meeting is here. [17/02/10]

Abou Bamba leaving the Ramsar Secretariat. After 6 years as Senior Advisor for the Africa Region, Abou Bamba is heading back to Africa. He will be in charge of the UNEP Convention for Cooperation in the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West, Central and Southern African Region (Abidjan Convention). The position is under the UNEP Environmental Policy Division (DEPI). His exact title will be “Coordinator, Abidjan Convention”. Read more and view the terms of reference for his replacement. [16/02/10]

Now available. Additional short trip proposals suggested by the government of Georgia for participants in the 41st meeting of the Standing Committee. Itineraries and prices are included in each PDF file. View them here.

Ramsar SGF call for applications for the 2010 cycle. 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. Funds may also be used to provide emergency management assistance for Ramsar sites under threat and to provide ‘preparatory assistance’ to allow non-Contracting Parties to progress toward accession. From 1991 to 2008 the Fund has provided a total of 7.5 million Swiss Francs to 227 projects from 108 countries, making available up to 40,000 Swiss francs (presently about € 27,300) per project. Projects may be proposed and implemented by any agency, NGO or individual, with the endorsement of the Ramsar authority in the country. The deadline for applications for the next round is 30 June 2010, but the deadline for sending draft proposals to receive advice from the Secretariat's Regional Teams is 30 April 2010. The SGF Guidelines and relevant forms can be downloaded in Word and PDF formats here. [15/02/10]

Secretary General's visit to Australia. Somewhat belatedly, here is a summary of Ramsar SG Mr Anada Tiéga's October 2009 visit to Australia, written by Simon Godschalx for Wetlands Australia's National Wetlands Update (no. 18). [14/02/2010]

Ramsar and the WTO sign Memo of Cooperation. The Ramsar Convention Secretariat Secretary General, Anada Tiega, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization's Director of Sustainable Tourism, Luigi Cabrini, on behalf of the Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on the 2nd of February, 2010 during the World Wetlands Week celebration in Victoria, Seychelles. Read more. [12/02/10]

Prespa Park cooperation a decade in the making. On WWD 2000, the Prime Ministers of Albania, Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia came together to declare their resolution to establish a transboundary “Prespa Park” for the benefits of the local people and the unique biodiversity in the water catchment basin of the Prespa lakes, shared by the three countries. Recently, the Prime Ministers of the three countries met again in the Prespa basin and decided that on the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Prespa Park, on 2 February 2010, a specific “Agreement on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Prespa Park Area” should be signed. And it was -- details here. [11/02/10]

Consultative Regional Workshop on High Altitude Wetlands in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. From 3-4 December 2009, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, Nepal, organized a ‘Consultative Regional Workshop on High Altitude Wetlands in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya Region’. The meeting was attended by 41 participants from international organizations (IUCN, Wetlands International, WWF), research institutions, and academia in the six HKH countries, i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, to discuss the key role of these wetlands, the challenges they are facing, and the opportunities. Attached is the Summary Report from the meeting as well as a Flyer containing the recommendations from the workshop. [11/02/10]

Also special. Another WWD in Switzerland. World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the 8th consecutive year in Geneva, Switzerland, this time on 7 February 2010 along the Jetée des Paquis. Amongst many environmental and civic groups turned out in the cold to educate and entertain the public, Ann Aldersey, Cathleen Cybele, Nadeezhda Alexeeva, Sandra Hails, Llewellyn Young, Alexia Dufour and Nathalie Rizzotti represented the Ramsar Secretariat. Read more. [11/02/10]

Special. WWD in Switzerland. Amongst World Wetlands Day celebrations in Switzerland, a number of Ramsar staff participated in educational festivities in Estavayer-le-Lac, near two Ramsar sites, and got 13 classes of schoolchildren playing the floor-version of the Ramsar Game to great delight. See a brief report here (PDF). [10/02/10]

La France lance son deuxième plan national d’action en faveur des zones humides. La veille de la journée mondiale des zones humides, Mme Jouanno, Secrétaire d’Etat chargée de l’écologie a présenté le nouveau plan d’action pour la période 2010-2012. Ce document fait suite au plan de 1995-2000 et s’appuie sur le bilan réalisé par l’Autorité Administrative Ramsar sur 15 ans de politique publique sur les zones humides. Ce plan est le résultat du travail et des concertations menés au sein du groupe national des zones humides au cours de l’année 2009. En savoir plus. [09/02/10] {English version also}

Questionnaire on wetland wildlife diseases. Ruth Cromie, Rebecca Lee & David Stroud, for Ramsar’s STRP, write: "We are contacting you to ask for your assistance concerning guidance on wildlife diseases for wetland managers and policy makers which is currently being developed by the Ramsar Convention. Our aim is to develop products that are targeted at non-disease specialists, and that provide guidance on key issues (for example, good practice responses in the event of disease outbreaks), and pointers to further sources of information and help." Read more and see the attached questionnaire. [09/02/10]

Decade-old dream comes true for Lake Chad. "World Wetlands Day is being celebrated with the full recognition of Africa’s Lake Chad as a wetland of international significance, fulfilling an agreement made a decade ago by the four nations that share it. The declaration by the Cameroon Republic that its portion of Africa’s fourth largest lake is being declared a wetland of international importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands follows similar declarations by Niger and Chad (both in 2001) and Nigeria (2008). Cameroon’s announcement will also clear the way for Lake Chad to become the largest of the world’s few recognised trans-boundary international wetlands, where countries make a formal agreement for joint protection and management of shared aquatic ecosystems and their resources." Read WWF International's press release on Cameroon's newest Ramsar site. [05/02/10]

Ramsar mission to two SGF / SGA projects in Africa. Last November Burkina Faso and Senegal welcomed a Ramsar mission assessing two projects supported by the Small Grants Fund and the Swiss Grant for Africa. Alexia Dufour, Ramsar Regional Affairs Officer, met the grant beneficiaries and visited the sites, two Sahelian lakes, “la mare d’Oursi”, a Ramsar site in Burkina Faso, and “la mare de Lothiandé” in the far east of Senegal. Read more. [04/02/10] (français aussi)

The draft agenda for the 41st meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee, set for Kobuleti, Georgia, 26 April - 1 May 2010, is now available. [05/02/10] (français et/y español) Prospective participants can also find travel and accommodation information here.

Wetland Globes prize launched. Mr Chris Rostron, Head of Wetland Link International (WLI), writes from the WWT London Wetland Centre: “The World Wetland Network is marking World Wetlands Day by launching the new International Wetland Prize, or Wetland Globes. These will recognise best practice in wetland management and restoration, as well as highlighting wetlands in danger, from the NGO point of view. A new interactive voting site will be created soon - watch this space at www.worldwetnet.org for more information.” [04/02/10]

World Wetlands Week in Seychelles. The World Wetlands Week 2010 celebrations in Seychelles continued on the 2nd of February with a  series of activities including the “adoption” of the North East Point Wetlands  by the Seychelles Scouts Association (SSA) in the presence of the national and  international media. Read more (PDF). [04/02/10]

World Wetlands Week in Seychelles. Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, and Assistant Advisor Cynthia Kibata are in Seychelles to participate in World Wetlands Week celebrations in that country. Here is brief illustrated report (PDF) on the first two days of the festivities. [03/02/10]

Secretary General's message for World Wetlands Day. "This year’s theme, Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change, with the slogan “Caring for wetlands: an answer to climate change”, captures the sense of urgency we all feel about the need to address the potentially disastrous consequences of global climate change as quickly as possible." Secretary General Anada Tiéga explains this year's suggested messages and encourages participants around the world for 2 February. [01/02/10] [français et/y español]

World Wetlands Day message from the CBD. Read here: a message from Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2010. [30/01/10]

WWD in Switzerland. In Switzerland the Grande Cariçaie Ramsar site will be celebrating WWD on the 2nd February at Estavayer le Lac. Throughout the day Ramsar staff members Nathalie Rizzotti, Montse Riera, Catherine Loetscher and Sandra Hails will be welcoming 13 different classes of schoolchildren from around the area and using a floor-sized version of the Ramsar game to raise their awareness about wetlands and water. Children will also visit other ‘stands’ organized by staff from the Ramsar Site to learn more about wetlands. In the evening the stands will be open to members of the public and there will also be a conference on wetland conservation in Africa with an opening speech delivered by M. Seydina Issa Sylla, past President of Wetlands International in Africa. More information on these events available here:http://www.grande-caricaie.ch/spip/spip.php?rubrique241 , http://www.grande-caricaie.ch/spip/IMG/pdf/jdg73.pdf [01/02/10]

In addition, six Ramsar staff will be in Geneva on 7 February to take part in an all-day WWD event for the public organized by the State of Geneva along the shores of lac Léman. Staff will be providing information and WWD publications for adults about Ramsar and wetlands, and will provide some hands-on activities for children. [01/02/10]

For other information about Ramsar staff members over World Wetlands Day, see the "Who's Where?" column just below.

Seychelles names 2nd site for WWD 2010. The government of Seychelles has designated a small wetland on Mahé Island for World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2010. At ceremonies at Seychelles’ World Wetlands Week celebrations next week, Ramsar staff will hand over to national authorities the site certificates for Aldabra Atoll (announced here in November 2009) and for Mare Aux Cochons High Altitude Freshwater Wetlands (04°38’S 055°25’E). Read more. [28/01/10]

Bangladesh SGF project. Ann Aldersey, Ramsar's Assistant Advisor for Asia-Oceania, traveled to Bangladesh, 6-15 January 2010, to participate in activities to formally launch the 2008 Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) project, 'People acting through social mobilization for the conservation and wise use of the wetlands in the southwest coast of Bangladesh'. The project is being undertaken by the Coastal Development Partnership, with financial support given by the government of Japan. Read more (PDF). [28/01/10]

Cameroon lists its part of Lake Chad. The Secretariat is very pleased to report that Cameroon has designated its portion of Lake Chad as a Ramsar site, effective on World Wetlands Day, 2 February, thus completing the Ramsar coverage of this important lake: Partie Camerounaise du Lac Tchad (12,500 hectares, 12°46’N 014°19’E). Read more. [27/01/10] WWF International press release.

South Africa’s newest Ramsar site in KwaZulu-Natal. The government of the Republic of South Africa has designated its 20th Wetland of International Importance, and its seventh in KwaZulu-Natal province, effective on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2010 -- Ntsikeni Nature Reserve(9,200 hectares, 30°08’S 29°28’E). Details here. [27/01/10]

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 ).