Wetlands and the Guinness World Records....

Greetings CEPA list members:

Two list members have recently written to me about how their wetland interventions have resulted in broader awareness-raising through achieving a Guinness World Record. Carrie Ma from the Hong Kong Wetland Park and Nasir Iqbal Malik from the Pakistan Wetlands Programme (PWP) have both been involved in achieving a Guinness World Record thus helping to present wetlands and their values to a much wider audience.

Carrie Ma has written to tell me about one of their WWD activities to mark the start of their four-month promotional programme on World Wetlands Day 2010. As part of their Bird Watching Festival on October 17, a total of 2,041 students and members of the public gathered at the park to create a 959.35 metre long and 1.2 metre wide painting with the theme of "Birds and Wetlands". Guinness World Records have now informed the Park that their "Birds and Wetlands" Painting for the Guinness World Records activity has set a new world record for the "largest painting by numbers". You can read the press release here http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200911/07/P200911060238.htm.. The awareness-raising about wetlands extended well beyond those taking part at the event and those present as spectators through setting a new Guinness World Record with all the media interest this attracts – an invaluable opportunity to highlight wetlands, World Wetlands Day and Ramsar.

As already reported on our web site some time ago, the Pakistan Wetlands Programme organised a one-day activity earlier this year to restore mangrove forests in the Indus Delta Ramsar Site through planting saplings. Nasir Iqbal Malik noted that on July the 15th 300 volunteers started early in the morning and by the end of the day had planted 541,176 saplings breaking the Guinness World Record previously held by India. While mangroves definitely benefitted from the activity, the event itself was used as a great communication opportunity to raise the awareness of the large number of spectators at the event about mangroves and their value to people. Breaking the Guinness World Record, as confirmed by the attending Guinness World Records Adjudicator, was a significant added bonus ensuring that news of the planting extended well beyond those present. Read the full report on the PWP web site here: http://pakistanwetlands.org/webpages/tree%20day.htm.

With best regards, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat
***************************************************************