Who was where, 2008?

A collection of travel news about Ramsar Secretariat staff, in reverse chronological order, drawn from the Who's Where? feature of the Ramsar Bulletin Board.

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

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, and Alexia Dufour, Regional Affairs Officer, are in Cambridge, UK on 7/8 January 2009 for a meeting at UNEP-WCMC to further develop aspects of the STRP's work on indicators of the effectiveness of the Convention. [07/01/09]

Anada Tiéga, Nick Davidson, and Tobias Salathé are visiting the Palais des Nations in Geneva, 19 December 2008, for a preparatory planning meeting about aspects of the 5th World Water Forum set for Turkey in 2009. [19/12/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Courchevel, France, for the 3rd Planetworkshops meeting, 11-13 December 2008, where he is making a presentation in the workshop on payments for ecosystem services.

Lew Young, Senior Advisor for Asia/Pacific, is in Beijing, China, 11 - 17 December 2008 to attend the 1st International Workshop of the China Anatidae Conservation and Monitoring Network, organized by the China State Forestry Administration and Beijing Forestry University. [11/12/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Paris for consultations with environmental authorities and members of the National Assembly and to participate in a GEF meeting at UNESCO headquarters. [02/12/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is in Benin for a meeting of the WacoWet regional initiative. [02/12/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is participating in 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Migratory Species in Rome, Italy, 1-5 December 2008, and associated events. [29/11/08]

María Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas, is participating in the "International Course on EIA and SEA for Wetland Management" at the CREHO Ramsar Centre in Panama, 24-26 November 2008. [26/11/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is participating in the 2008 Global Ministerial Forum on Research For Health, November 15-19, 2008 - Bamako (MALI). [15/11/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Washington, D.C., USA, for a meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council and will be back in the office on 18 November 2008. [10/11/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is participating in the "Ad hoc Intergovernmental and Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" of the UNEP IPBES in Putrajaya, Malaysia, 10-12 November 2008. [10/11/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is participating in the 7th UNCCD meeting of the CRIC (Committee on the Review of the Implementation of the Convention), Istanbul, Turkey from 9 to 12 November 2008. [10/11/08]

The staff of the Ramsar Secretariat are in Changwon, Republic of Korea, for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, which begins on 28 October and runs through the 4th of November. In our absence, the office is being covered by Ms Emily Reed, and you can contact her directly at the World Wetlands Day e-mail address, wwd@ramsar.org. [23/10/08]

Nathalie Rizzotti, Project Officer, is in Thailand, 15-17 October 2008, and Nepal, 18-24 October, to visit site projects under the Ecole de l’Eau initiative funded by the Evian Initiative of the Danone Group. [14/10/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Delft, the Netherlands, 10 October 2008, to participate in a UNESCO-IHE Symposium on "Integrating knowledge for sustaining rivers". [09/10/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, and Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, are in Barcelona, Spain, 6-9 October 2008, to participate in the IUCN World Conservation Congress,. [09/10/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is visiting the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy, 6-7 October 2008, to complete the radio programmes on a wetlands project Ramsar is working with in Rwanda and discuss further partnerships with FAO in the region. [03/10/08]

Many members of the Ramsar Secretariat at at the Palais des Nations in Geneva today, 1 October 2008, to brief the permanent missions to the United Nations there on the upcoming Conference of the Parties in Changwon at the end of this month. [01/10/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Oulu, Finland, 22-25 September 2008, to participate in the NorBalWet Initiative meeting and seminar. [23/09/08]

Monica Zavagli, Assistant Advisor for Europe, is at Lago Trasimeno, Italy, 23-26 September 2008, to participate in the 12th International Living Lakes conference. [23/09/08]

Vainuupo Jungblut, Associate Ramsar Officer at SPREP in Samoa, is participating in the Australian Wetlands and Waterbirds Taskforce (WWTF) meeting, 17-18 September 2008, in Sydney, Australia. [17/09/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, and Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, are inParis, 16 September 2008, for discussions with representatives of theDanone Groupon the progress of the Evian Initiative partnership. [16/09/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in the United States, 8-12 September 2008, for discussions with the Administrative Authority and other environmental authorities and interested organizations. [08/09/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Athens, 7-9 September 2008, for MedWet Committee meetings. [08/09/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Paris, 5 September 2008, for discussions with Planet Workshop, a network of media preparing a forum on Environment and Development. He is en route to the United States for a week-long visit with government authorities and interested organizations. [05/09/08]

Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer, is in London, 4-5 September 2008, for a meeting at the London Wetland Centre on the Wetland Link International network of wetland centres, a programme of the Wildfowl& Wetlands Trust based in the UK. [04/09/08]

Alexia Dufour, Regional Affairs Officer, is in Bonn, Germany, for a meeting of the German National Wetland Committee, 3 September 2008, and will then participate in a ceremony, 4 September, to inaugurate the new Transboundary Ramsar Site "Austrian-Bavarian Wildalm" in Tyrol. [03/09/08]

Lew Young, Senior Advisor for Asia/Oceania, and Pragati Tuladhar, Technical Officer for Asia/Oceania, are in Kathmandu, Nepal, 1-3 September 2008 to attend the 6th Himalayan Initiative meeting: "Regional Technical Workshop on the Himalayan Initiative".[01/09/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Regional Advisor for Africa, is in Libreville, Gabon, 26-29 August 2008, to attend the "First Inter-ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa" co-organized by UNEP and WHO. [27/08/08]

Nathalie Rizzotti, Project Officer, is in Argentina, 29 August to 5 September 2008, to visit an Ecole de l'eau project as part of the Danone/Evian Initiative. [28/08/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in the Republic of Korea, for the week of 25-30 August 2008 to discuss the progress of the preparations for COP10 with relevant officials in Seoul and Changwon. [25/08/08]

Lew Young, Senior Advisor for Asia / Oceania, is in Fribourg, 22 August 2008, to participate in a conference on the work of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in the Mekong Delta. [21/08/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Stockholm, Sweden, for the 2008 World Water Week, 17-23 August 2008, where he will be part of a panel discussion on payment for ecosystem services and will also have discussions with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). [09/08/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, and Edgar Kaeslin, Scientific and Technical Support Officer, are in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 11-15 August 2008, working with members of the STRP and Korean colleagues to draft the "Changwon Declaration", which will be then submitted to COP10 for consideration and adoption, and will meet with Ministry of Environment colleagues to discuss COP10 procedures and preparations. [09/08/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is taking part in an international Danube Delta advisory mission, in collaboration with the EC, the CoE, UNECE, and others, to Kiyv, Odesa, and the Kiliyske Mouth Ramsar site in the Ukraine, in follow-up to Ramsar Advisory Mission no. 53, 28-31 July 2008. [24/07/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is visiting UNESCO in Paris, 24-25 July 2008 to represent Ramsar at the European Space Agency-TIGER project steering committee meeting. [24/07/08]

María Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas, is in Asunción, Paraguay, for the third Conference of the Western Hemisphere for Migratory Species Initiatives and the meeting of its Steering Committee, from 21 to 26 July 2008. [21/07/08]

Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer, is in London, 23 July 2008, for talks with the Biosphere Connections partners. [22/07/08]

María Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas, is participating in the general meeting of the International Coral Reefs Initiative (ICRI), 11-13 July 2008, in Fort Lauderdale, USA. [11/07/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Mallnitz, Austria, 9-11 July 2008, for a meeting of the advisory board of the Klagenfurt University masters course on Protected Area Management. [09/06/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is visiting UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, 7-11 July 2008, for discussions with the Executive Director and the heads of various other divisions about future collaboration. [07/07/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is in Wageningen, The Netherlands, to participate in the Wetlands International Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project’s planning roundtable meeting for Anglophone and Francophone Policy Makers, 3-4 July 2008. [02/07/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Montreal, Canada, 24-27 June 2008 to participate in a Technical Partnership meeting of the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) GEF project, and for meetings with colleagues in the CBD Secretariat in follow-up to recent decisions of CBD COP9. [24/06/08]

María Rivera and Mila Llorens, Senior and Assistant Regional Advisors for the Americas, are presently in Bogota, Colombia (23-28 June 2008) for the 5th Workshop on the Strategy for the Conservation and Wise Use of High Andean Wetlands. [24/06/08]

Vainuupo Jungblut, Associate Ramsar Officer based in Apia, is visiting Kiribati 19-26 June 2008 to provide training for the staff of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agriculture Development (MELAD) to carry out the mapping of the boundaries of the proposed Ramsar site (North Tarawa - Nooto)  and 1 or 2 other potential Ramsar sites on Tarawa. [16/06/08]

Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer, is in Amman, Jordan, 12-16 June 2008 to participate in the last four days of the Wings Over Wetlands Regional Training and Awareness Modules Review & Adaptation Workshop, which is running 8-16th June. [12/06/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Advisor for Africa, is in Johannesburg, South Africa, 8-12 June 2008 to participate in the twelfth session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment and meet with the Ramsar Administrative Authority in South Africa concerning that Party's regional role in the upcoming COP10 in October. [09/06/08]

Some 80 members and observers are at the Secretariat's facilities in Gland, Switzerland, for the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee, 2-6 June 2008. [02/06/08]

Nick Davidson, the Deputy Secretary General, is in Bonn, Germany, 31 May 2008, to represent the Secretary General at a meeting of the Biodiversity Liaison Group (BLG) of biodiversity-related conventions. [30/05/08]

María Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas, is in Chile, 25-30 May 2008, for talks regarding the current status of the Ramsar site and Montreux Record site “Santuario Carlos Anwandtler – Río Cruces”. [28/05/08]

Anada Tiéga, the Secretary General, is in Bonn, Germany, 26-29 May 2008, to participate in the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. [27/05/08]

Nick Davidson, the Deputy Secretary General, is in Bonn, Germany, 19-26 May, participating in CBD COP9. Whilst there he will also be speaking in a number of side events including on wetlands and climate adaptation, international watercourse management, harmonised MEA reporting, culture and biodiversity, and Earth Observation for MEA support. In addition he will participate in several other meetings, including the Steering Committees of two major GEF projects: Wings over Wetlands (WOW) African-Eurasian Flyway project and the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP); a planning committee for the 3rd Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3); and (with STRP Chair Heather MacKay) the 2nd meeting of the Chairs of the Scientific Subsidiary Bodies of environmental conventions (CSAB-2). [19/05/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is participating in the International Conference, Ecohydrological processes and sustainable floodplain management, Lodz, Poland, 19-23 May 2008, organized by the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology and Department of Applied Ecology, University of Lodz, under the auspices of the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme. [19/05/08]

Anada Tiéga, the Secretary General, is Paris, France, 16 May 2008, for discussions with the Danone Group about our continuing partnership activities and with the Erath Workshops media forums. [16/05/08]

Anada Tiéga, the Secretary General, is participating in the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16) at UN headquarters in New York, USA, 7-14 May 2008. He will be one of the panelists in the Thematic Discussion on Drought, which is covering Climate change, water scarcity and drought; Drought and Impacts on hunger and poverty; Building resilience; Drought preparedness and response measures to drought; and Monitoring and early warning. [07/05/08]

Anada TiégaandNick Davidson, the SG and DSG, Tobias Salathé andMonica Zavagli, Ramsar's European regional team, andSandra Hails, the CEPA Programme Officer, are inSolna-Stockholm, Sweden, 3-7 May 2008, for the6th European Ramsar meeting. [05/05/08]

Sandra Hails, Valerie Higgins, Mireille Katz, and Montse Riera are in Changwon, Republic of Korea, all of this week, 14-19 April 2008, to collaborate with Korean colleagues on the logistical preparations for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, set for late October in Changwon. [14/04/08]

María Rivera, Senior Regional Advisor for the Americas, is in Panamá City, 14-18 April 2008, for a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Ramsar Regional Center for Training and Research on Wetlands in the Western Hemisphere (CREHO). [14/04/08]

Mila Llorens, Assistant Regional Advisor for the Americas, is in Antigua & Barbuda, 14-16 April 2008, for consultations on the Small Grants Project "Inventory of Wetlands: Antigua & Barbuda". [14/04/08]

Representatives of ATEN (the Atelier Technique des Espaces Naturelles) of France are visiting the Ramsar Secretariat today, 10 April 2008, for discussions on cooperative efforts for capacity-building in francophone Africa. [10/04/08]

María Rivera and Mila Llorens, Senior and Assistant Regional Advisors for the Americas, are in Havana, Cuba, 7-11 April 2008, for the Caribbean Subregional Meeting for the Implementation of the Ramsar Convention, 8-10 April. [07/04/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2-5 April 2008, to participate in an STRP drafting session on wetlands and human health. [02/04/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Regional Advisor for Africa, is in Accra, Ghana, 31 March-1April 2008, for a meeting of the contact group on Wetlands and Poverty Reduction. The purpose of the meeting is to afford participants the opportunity to collaborate with Ghana towards the preparation of a new draft Resolution on this subject for presentation to Ramsar CAOP10. [31/03/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, and Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer, are in The Hague, The Netherlands, 28 March 2008, to participate in a meeting of the Advisory Board on Capacity Building sponsored by the Netherlands to facilitate the implementation of the Ramsar Convention. Participants include representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Wetlands International, UNESCO-IHE, and Wageningen International. [27/03/08]

Robert Bos of the World Health Organization is visiting the Ramsar Secretariat, 26 March 2008, as part of continuing WHO collaboration in the STRP's work on 'wetlands and human health'. [26/03/08]

Pragati Tuladhar, Technical Officer for Asia–Pacific, is attending High altitude wetlands and river basin management in the Himalayan Region: a Regional Consultation Workshop with Bhutan, China, India and Nepal in New Delhi, India, 27-29 March 2008, organized by Wetlands International–South Asia and ICIMOD. [27/03/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Regional Advisor for Africa, is in Bamako, Mali , 26-27 March 2008, to launch a project funded by the Ramsar Swiss Grant for Africa for the implementation of Mali's National Wetland Committee 2008-2009 work plan. [14/03/08]

Abou Bamba, Senior Regional Advisor for Africa, is in Monrovia, Liberia, 17-21 March 2008, to assist in the preparation of a project document for the Integrated Water Resources Management of the Mesurado River Ramsar site. [14/03/08]

Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer, is in Paris, France, 17-19 March 2008, to participate a CBD CEPA Informal Advisory Committee expert workshop on education. [17/03/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, and Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, are in Bern, Switzerland, 10 March 2008, for meetings with the Swiss government concerning Secretiariat matters and joint activities with the Swiss Ramsar Administrative Authority. [06/03/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is visiting UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge, UK, 7-11 March 2008, to participate in a meeting of the UNEP Conventions' harminsation project and to work with WCMC staff and Dave Pritchard (BirdLife) on progressing two STRP priority tasks: 1) review of convention data and information needs review and 2) indicators of effectiveness. (07/03/08)

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, and Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, are in Paris, 6 February 2008, to meet with the French Ramsar Administrative Authority, the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, to discuss the role of France in their capacity as imminent President of the EU with regard to the Ramsar Convention and wetland conservation and wise use and the implementation of the Convention in France. On 7 March they will have four meetings with relevant divisions of UNESCO, including the Head of World Heritage Center, the Director of Legal Affairs, the Director of Ecological Sciences and Land, and the Director of Water Sciences. [06/03/08]

Pragati Tuladhar, Technical Officer for the Asia-Pacific, in Kathmandu, Nepal, 3-10 March 2008, for a Small Grants Fund project evaluation of the project entitled "Sustainable Wetland Management for Wildlife and People at Jagadishpur Reservoir, Central Nepal”. [03/03/08]

All Ramsar Secretariat staff members, and 88 guests, are in Gland, Switzerland, for the 36th meeting of the Standing Committee, 25-29 February 2008. [20/02/08]

Anada Tiéga, Secretary General, is in Monaco, 19-22 February 2008, to participate in the 10th Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum. He will also participate in a meeting of the EMG (Environmental Management Group) and a special meeting of conventions. [20/02/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is at the FAO in Rome, Italy, for the 13th meeting of CBD's Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-13), 18-22 February 2008. [20/02/08]

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Tartu, Estonia, 18-23 February 2008, for the Eastern European Network Conference of Living Lakes. [20/02/08]

The Secretary General, Mr Anada Tiéga, is in Maun, Botswana, to participate in the launch of the Secretariat of the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) on 2nd February, together with the celebration of both World Wetland Day 2008 and the completion of the Planning Phase of the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP). [01/02/08]

The Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel is holding its 14th ordinary meeting (STRP14) this week, and some 50 thematic and regional members, representatives of International Organization Partners and other interested organizations, representatives of related MEAs, and invited experts have gathered for a punishing daily schedule of presentations and drafting throughout the week, 28 January to 1 February. [28/01/08]

The Secretary General, Mr Anada Tiega, is participating in the Beijing International Conference on Combating Desertification, 22-24 January 2008, organized by the Ramsar Administrative Authority in China, the State Forestry Administration, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs as an intersessional event in contribution to the 16th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), set for May 2008. [21/01/08]

Mr. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), accompanied by Mr. Gregoire de Kalbermatten, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD, visited the Ramsar Convention Secretariat on 16 January 2008, to discuss issues of common interest to the two conventions since his appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. [17/01/08]

María Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas, is participating in a meeting of the council of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), 14-15 January 2008, in San Blas Nayarit, México, and holding discussions with the Ramsar Administrative Authority in México, 16-18 January. [15/01/08]

The Ramsar Regional Meeting for Asia is being held 14-18 January 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Secretariat has a strong team on the scene: Anada Tiega, the Secretary General, Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, Alexia Dufour, Regional Affairs Officer, and Pragati Tuladhar, Assistant Advisor for the Asia-Pacific, as well as Rebecca D'Cruz, a former Ramsar staff member and current Vice-Chair of the STRP, who has been contracted to help the Secretariat with Asian issues until a new Senior Advisor has come on board. [14/01/08]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Cambridge, UK, 14 January 2008, for a one-day STRP task group informal meeting, hosted by UNEP-WCMC, to further develop work on the Panel's priority task on a data and information needs review for the Convention, in preparation for its discussion during the 14th meeting of the Panel, Gland, 28 January - 1 February 2008. [14/01/08]

Pragati Tuladhar, Assistant Regional Advisor for the Asia-Pacific, is in Bangkok, Thailand, to make final preparations for the Ramsar Regional Meeting in preparation for COP10 that will take place there next week. [07/01/08]

Anada Tiéga, the Secretary General, and Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, are in Athens, Greece, 7-9 January 2008, for discussions with the Ramsar administrative authorities and with the MedWet Secretariat, and to participate in the 5th meeting of the MedWet Steering Group. This meeting will prepare guidance to be submitted to MedWet/Com9. A summary report will be prepared on the implementation of the multi-year work plan, including significant achievements on the effective conservation and wise use of wetlands in the Mediterranean Basin. Proposals for future work will also be examined. [07/01/08]