News from the CEPA e-mail list

Ramsar Award categories for 2005 to include CEPA! (18/06/04)

Good afternoon CEPA list members:

I have some great Ramsar news for all of us working in the field of CEPA - one of the categories for the Ramsar Conservation Awards for 2005 for individuals, organizations and governments that have made a significant contribution to wetland conservation, will be CEPA! So to make sure we get really excellent nominations, I hope you will all take the time to read through the announcement below from Dwight Peck here at the Secretariat and also send it on to colleagues that may be interested.

Best weekend wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award -- for actions that have significantly contributed to long-term conservation and sustainable use of wetlands

The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award was established in 1996 by Resolution VI.18 of the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) in order to recognise and honour the contributions of individuals, organisations, and governments around the world towards promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands. It was awarded for the first time on the occasion of the 7th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (San José, Costa Rica, 1999), and for the second time at the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Valencia, Spain, in 2002. Information on the first two rounds of the Ramsar Award and on the laureates is available on the Convention web site.

The Ramsar Standing Committee, at its meeting in January 2004, agreed the criteria and procedures for adjudicating the third round of the Award and determined to select three winners for presentation at the 9th Conference of the Parties, to be held in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2005. The Committee gratefully accepted the offer of the Danone Group (France) to complement the Ramsar Award with the Evian Special Prize, a cash prize of US$ 10.000, which will be granted to each of the three laureates who will receive the Award at COP9.

By decision SC 30.8, the Standing Committee decided that the Ramsar Award for COP9 will be given in the categories of management, science, and education.

Nominations are encouraged of persons, government or non-government organisations, that have taken initiatives which have contributed significantly to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, especially those initiatives which might serve as inspirational and practical examples for others.

Nominations should reach the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands by 31 October 2004 at the latest, using the form attached or available upon request from the Ramsar Secretariat or on the Ramsar Web site. The Standing Committee will select the three winning individuals or organisations and the Award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the 9th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (Kampala, Uganda), on 8 November 2005.

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Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award
Criteria and Procedures

Selection criteria

1. One Ramsar Award shall be awarded for each of the following:

a) The "Ramsar Management Award" supported by Danone Evian, rewarding Actions - including legislation, strategies, plans, programmes, projects, investments, and campaigns - that have significantly contributed, or have a clear potential to contribute, to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, especially as means of alleviating poverty (COP 9 theme);

b) The "Ramsar Science Award" supported by Danone Evian, rewarding Contributions to the advancement of wetland science;

c) The "Ramsar Education Award" supported by Danone Evian, rewarding the best initiatives for communication, education and public awareness on a Wetland of International Importance.

It should be noted that, in the case of individuals, as decided by the Ramsar Standing Committee at its 20th meeting (1997), the Award will not be given in memoriam.

Eligibility

2. Institutions and citizens of all nations are invited to nominate individuals or institutions - governmental and non-governmental, including community groups - or private sector enterprises, of any nation.

Nominations Procedure

3. Nominations should be submitted to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat in English, French or Spanish, using the Ramsar Award form available from the Ramsar Secretariat in Gland, Switzerland, or on the Ramsar Web site, accompanied by the necessary supporting documentation.

4. The deadline for this round of the Ramsar Award was fixed at 31 October 2004. This date shall be final.

Selection Procedure

5. The Ramsar Secretariat shall process the nominations received and submit them for the consideration of the Ramsar Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall select the laureates. Its decision shall be final.

Announcement and Presentation of the Award

6. The announcement of the laureates on each occasion shall be made through a press release as soon as all of them have confirmed their acceptance of the award.

7. The Ramsar Award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the Ramsar Conference of the Contracting Parties and every effort will be made to ensure the presence of all laureates.

Possible cash rewards

8. For the 2005 laureates, each of the Ramsar Awards will be complemented by the Evian Special Prize of US$ 10.000.- kindly offered by the Danone Group for work which makes the Convention on Wetlands more effective.

How to obtain a nomination form

The nomination forms for the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award can be downloaded from the Ramsar Web site or can be obtained electronically or in hard copy from

The Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
fax: +41 22 999 01 69,
e-mail: ramsar@ramsar.org.

Deadline for receipt of nominations shall be 31 October 2004. Nominations received after this date will not be considered.

http://ramsar.org/key_awards_index.htm

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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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