The Ramsar News Archive, 7 November 2011

Pro Natura News on Ramsar

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, Pro Natura, one of the main conservation organisations in Switzerland, are engaged in designation of new Ramsar Sites in the country (where there are, to date, only 11 Wetlands of International Importance). Click here [PDF, French] [27/10/2011]

Version française:
A l'occasion du 40ème anniversaire de la Convention sur les zones humides, Pro Natura, une des principales organisations suisses de protection de la nature, s'engage en faveur de la désignation de nouveaux Sites Ramsar dans le pays (où il n'existe à ce jour que 11 Zones humides d'Importance internationale). Cliquez ici [PDF]

Funding Opportunities for Bird Conservation

Please see this list of organisations that provide grants for bird-related conservation work. More. [25/10/2011]

The Future of Wetlands–40 Years of Global Wetland Conservation, International Conference

On Tuesday, 25 October 2011, in Helsinki, Finland, Ramsar Deputy General Secretary Nick Davidson and Senior Regional Advisor for Europe, Tobias Salathé are attending. The Conference addresses following themes: Why are wetlands relevant? What is the state of wetlands? How should we interact in order to find more efficient and sustainable solutions? How to increase the political commitment for future? More info in the agenda here. [PDF] [24/10/2011]

The Asian Wetland Symposium and the Wuxi Declaration

Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiéga attended the The Asian Wetland Symposium in Wuxi, China, which was a great success. There were 800 participants from 19 countries, most of whom were officials from local governments of China, a tremendous CEPA achievement on wetlands conservation among China. The Wuxi Declaration, adopted on 13 October 2011, is posted here. [24/10/2011]

News from the Netherlands: World Wetlands Week 2011

The Netherlands celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention in October 2011 with a week of activites. The Netherlands has almost one million acres of wetlands, about 27% of the total area. These areas are important for safety, because they serve as water storage during periods of extreme rainfall. Above all, they are essential for migratory birds and fish. Roelof Heringa, Projectmanager & International Affairs Staatsbosbeheer & Eurosite Twinning Coordinator shares the Newsletter and more information here.  [20/10/2011]

The quarterly Newsletter of the Scientific & Technical Review Panel (STRP) of the Ramsar Convention

This edition contains an interview with Elif Okumus, STRP National Focal Point for Turkey. Turkey joined the Ramsar Convention in 1994 and to date there are 13 wetlands designated as Ramsar Sites covering an area of 179,898 hectares. The country is home to many more beautiful wetland areas worth such designation. The Topic of the Quarter is: "National Ramsar Committees (NRCs)". Much more is covered, such as new Ramsar Sites, Ramsar's SC43 Meeting (31 Oct - 4 Nov), and the Ramsar Facebook page! More. [20/10/2011]

Registration open, Ramsar Pan-American Meeting, Kingston, Jamaica, 6-10 December, 2011

The Ramsar V Pan-American meeting will be held in Kingston, Jamaica from 6-10 December 2011, hosted by the Ministry of Housing, Environment and Water and the National Environment and Planning Agency-NEPA.  More info, English.

La V Reunión Panamericana, se llevará  a cabo del 6-10 de Diciembre en Kingston, Jamaica presidida por el Ministerio de Vivienda, Ambiente y Agua y la Agencia Nacional de Ambiente y Planeación.  Más aquí. [17/10/2011]

Registration open, Ramsar Regional Meeting for Asia, Jakarta, Indonesia, 14-18 November 2011

The Ramsar Regional Meeting for Asia will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 14 – 18 November 2011, hosted by the Ministry of Forestry, Government of the Republic of Indonesia. A provisional programme is also posted.  More. [13/10/2011]

Report and Presentations Posted from the Ramsar Regional Meeting for Africa

Many of the presentations and the final report from the Ramsar Regional Meeting, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, October 2011 are posted.  A visit to the Lake Bam Ramsar Site provided good field discussions. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, the Municipality of Ouagadougou, designated a Ramsar Convention Trail in within the Urban Park of Bangr Weogo. Please click here to read more. [20/10/2011]

Planet Workshops News

Ramsar Secretary General, Anada Tiéga, and Claudia Fenerol, Coordinator, Partnership Programme, attended the Planet Workshops Conference held in Evian, France, 26 - 28 September, 2011.  The Planet Workshops, an International Forum for Sustainable Development, is an interactive platform dedicated to the exchange ideas, experiences and best practices, gathering key decision makers who want to implement a sustainable agenda in business and in society.  Secretary General Tiéga is a member of the Planet Workshop Steering Committee. More. [20/10/2011]

In-country Ramsar Accession Assistance for Vanuatu

At the request of the Director of the Vanuatu Environment Department the Ramsar Regional Officer – Oceania, Mr. Vainuupo Jungblut, visited Vanuatu from 19 – 23 September 2011 to provide assistance with the country’s accession to the Ramsar Convention. More. [20/10/2011]

Mexico reaches 129 Ramsar Sites

The paperwork has been completed for the designation by the government of Mexico of a further six Wetlands of International Importance, bringing that country's total area of a wide array of wetland types under the Ramsar umbrella to 8,376,271 hectares in 129 sites. The Ramsar Americas team has prepared summaries of the new designations based on the accompanying Ramsar Information Sheets. Here they are. [19/10/2011]

Nicaragua's ninth Ramsar Site

The government of Nicaragua has designated its ninth Wetland of International Importance, effective 29 June 2011. Sistema Lacustre Playitas-Moyúa-Tecomapa (1,161 hectares, 12°35'47"N 086°02'48"W), in the west-central region of Matagalpa, as summarized by Ramsar's Sofia Méndez from the accompanying RIS, comprises a permanent lake and two seasonal freshwater lakes, intermittent rivers, swamps, and the flooded agricultural lands that surround them. Read more here. [18/10/2011]

Austria names Carinthian mountain bog

The Secretariat is very pleased to announce that Austria has designated its 20th Wetland of International Importance, a complex of raised bog and other wetland types at about 1,460 metres altitude in the southern state of Carinthia. As summarized by Ramsar's Kati Wenzel from the Ramsar Information Sheet, Autertal/St. Lorenzener Hochmoor (48 hectares, 13°55'11''E 046°51'54''N), a Natura 2000 site since 2000, consists of various representative, rare, natural and near-natural wetland types. Read more. [17/10/2011]

Ramsar European Meeting Presentations Posted

We are pleased to report that over 40 presentations from the Ramsar European Regional Meeting 2011 are now posted., in PDF format. 

Please click here to view them.  [13/10/2011]

Arab Working Group on the implementation of biodiversity and desertification related Multilateral Environmental Agreements

The Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, Egypt organised the meeting of the ‘Arab Working Group on the implementation of biodiversity and desertification related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)’ 25–27 September, 2011. The meeting was an opportunity for representative of the Arab countries to hear report from the various MEAs, including the Ramsar Secretariat, on their work over the past year relevant to the Arab region.  More. [11/10/2011]

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) News.

On 12th September, SPREP organized a ‘Pacific Environment Forum 2011’ in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) or Rio+20. Then, the Honorable Afioga Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi (Prime Minister, Samoa) and David Sheppard (Director, SPREP) opened the 22nd SPREP annual meeting (13–15 September). Lew Young, Ramsar's Senior Regional Advisor for Asia-Oceania, and Vainuupo Jungblut, Ramsar Regional Officer, also provided assistance to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) in Samoa for the completion of the Ramsar Information Sheet for the Lake Lanoto’o’ Ramsar Site, as well as their Small Grant Fund project which included the preparation of a wise-use framework and management plan for the site. More.  [11/10/2011]