News from the CEPA e-mail list

Two Ramsar contacts win national wetlands awards (29/03/06)

Good morning CEPA list members:

Francisco Abarca and Royal Gardner, two active members of the Ramsar family, have been selected as recipients of the 2006 National Wetlands Awards for exemplary contributions in conserving or restoring the wetlands in the USA. They are among six wetlands educators, scientists, and conservationists who will be honoured at a Capitol Hill presentation on May 10, 2006 in Washington, DC.

The National Wetlands Awards Program celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in wetlands conservation. Collectively, these six award winners have conserved thousands of wetland acres and have mobilized hundreds of other individuals to contribute to wetland conservation showing how individuals can and do make a difference. Their work covers programs or projects on the regional, state, and local levels, and their efforts to educate the public and surrounding communities about the value of wetlands, the programs that are available to protect and restore wetlands, and the value of cooperation among grassroots organizations, educational organizations, private landowners, and government agencies lead to the successful protection of wetland resources.

The National Wetlands Awards Program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, NOAA Fisheries, and the Federal Highway Administration.

The award for State, Tribal and Local Program Development will be given to Francisco Abarca from Arizona. Francisco has worked closely with the Ramsar Convention for many years and, with the support of the Wetlands for the Future fund, has organized training programmes in Mexico and Colombia.

The award for Education & Outreach will be given to Royal Gardner who is currently Ramsar's NGO CEPA Focal Point (representing the USA’s National Wetlands Committee) and the Regional Representative on Ramsar’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) for the period 2006-2008.

Below is the brief text provided by the awards programme detailing their contribution to wetlands conservation; full details on the award and the six award winners for 2006 are available here http://www2.eli.org/pressdetail.cfm?ID=143.

Royal Gardner, Gulfport, Florida
Professor Gardner, of Stetson University in Tampa Bay, developed an interdisciplinary wetland seminar to introduce law students to wetland policy and science and helped establish Stetson’s International Environmental Moot Court Competition. Since 1990, he has published and lectured widely on issues of wetland policy and mitigation, targeting both legal and general audiences. He served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Mitigating Wetland Losses and is currently the chair of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee.

Francisco Abarca, Phoenix, Arizona
Mr. Abarca, of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, has developed and managed a tri-national wetland conservation program that aims strengthen partnerships among scientists and managers from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Mr. Abarca has led the production of numerous television and radio programs and newspaper articles, coedited the first wetlands training manual in Spanish, and organized World Wetlands Day ceremonies.

Congratulations to Royal and Francisco.

Best regards, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 999 0176; Fax: +41 22 999 0169
E-mail: hails@ramsar.org
Web Site: http://ramsar.org
CEPA mini-Web site: http://ramsar.org/outreach_index.htm

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