Ramsar Bulletin Board, 3 September 1997

Headline Story: Ramsar at SBSTTA3. Michael Smart has been in Montreal representing Ramsar at the "biodiversity of inland water systems workshop" at Global Biodiversity Forum 8, and the successful outcome of that meeting is to be presented by Edward Maltby on 2 September to the 3rd meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is preparing its input on inland water systems to the 4th COP of the CBD slated for Bratislava in May 1998. Mike is serving as a panelist at SBSTTA3 and presented an opening statement on the Ramsar Convention on 1 September -- here's the text of his brief speech. [3/9/97]

Who's Where?

• Mike Smart, Senior Policy Advisor, is in Montreal for Global Biodiversity Forum 8, 29-31 August, particularly to participate in its workshop on "Inland Water Systems" which is intended to prepare a report to the Convention on Biological Diversity's SBSTTA. He will then be staying on attend the 1-5 September SBSTTA meeting as an observer, and has been invited to participate as a panelist for SBSTTA's discussion of inland water systems on 2 September.
• Delmar Blasco, the SG, and Tim Jones, RC for Europe, are junketing in the Volga Delta and thereabouts from 1 to 7 September; see related itinerary below.
• Paulette Kennedy, Administrative Secretary and the Bureau's MedWet Finance Officer, is in Rome 29 August to 3 September for the MedWet Steering Committee Meeting.
• Rebecca D'Cruz, RC for Asia, is soon headed for Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, for the 12-23 September International Workshop on Wetland Conservation in Northeast Asia. Wish you could be there?
• Montserrat Riera has returned from her annual sojourn above Barcelona, so we can all breathe freely again in the confidence that the Bureau's real work-- sending all this policy documentation out on schedule -- is going to get done on time for another year.
• The rest of us are staying put until the dust settles! [29/8/97]

New on the Site:Updated lists of Contracting Parties to the Convention; announcements of two wetland workshops coming up soon, one in Montreal, the other in Ulaanbaatar; introduction to the Mongolia Environmental Trust Fund; Central America trip report, including the El Tigre MGP. [28/8/97]

Position opening at WWT. Senior Wetland Ecologists sought by The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust to develop and lead conservation research in habitat creation, restoration and monitoring. 2 - 4 years relevant postgrad. experience of wetland creation and management, coupled with expertise in plant/invertebrate biology, water quality or hydrology is essential, as is the ability to be flexible and integrate into a small multidisciplinary team. Offered initially on a 12-month contract with possibility of extension. Salary to WWT Grade 8 (£13,338 - £16,302), with a starting salary unlikely to exceed £13,338.

For further information contact Denise Rogers, WWT, Slimbridge, GL2 7BT, UK, enclosing an SAE. e-mail: Denise.Rogers@wwt.org.uk. Closing date for applications is Friday, 4th September. [1/9/97] [The position has since been filled.]

Russia tops the agenda.The upcoming (1-7 September) visit to Moscow by the Secretary General and the Regional Coordinator for Europe will be the first Bureau mission to the Russian Federation since 1994, despite the fact that Russia is currently Alternate Regional Representative for Eastern Europe on the Ramsar Standing Committee. At the top of the agenda are discussions with the State Committee for Environmental Protection, and a meeting with Deputy Minister Amirkhanov (to whom the State Committee is responsible) is scheduled for 2 September. There will also be visits to the Moscow offices of partner organizations: IUCN, Wetlands International, and WWF. From Moscow, the mission will go on to visit the southern city of Astrakhan, in the Volga Delta, at the head of the Caspian Sea. Parts of the Delta have been designated as a Ramsar site since 1976 and in recent years there has been active international involvement (notably by Wetlands International and the Dutch Government). The Volga Delta is also the subject of a 1997 Small Grants Fund project proposal. During the Bureau visit, discussions will be held with local authorities and wetland researchers. The mission will end back in Moscow, where a 'wrap-up' session with the State Committee is planned for 6 September. [29/8/97]

Some Ramsar staff news. Our excellent friend Clarita Martinet-Fay, the Bureau's MedWet Secretary and Ramsar colleague for about the past four years, has left the Bureau and moved down the hall (and one floor up) to IUCN, a great career move grade-wise, to the post of Programme Assistant for West and Central Asia and North Africa: may she flourish, and visit often. Maria Rodriguez, our many-many-lingual support staff for the Senior Policy Advisor and for everything in Spanish, is lamentably headed for the private sector, the "bébé Ramsar" no more. Jocelyn Bowden, one of our first Ramsar interns, is going home in mid-September and will be missed by us almost as much as Australia missed her whilst she was here. Mike Smart, virtually "Mr Ramsar", is completing a large bunch of his last assignments as a full-time Ramsar staffer and will wrap it up at the end of September, leaving only the question of how much inspiration (and work) we can still get out of him over the next forty years anyway. But on the up side, Bill Phillips of Australia will be taking Mike's place, more or less, and should be arriving any day now -- and everyone who attended the Brisbane COP in 1996, and watched Bill organize that large-ish party, will envy us for getting him. Tom Kabii from Kenya, our Regional Coordinator for Africa, is moving on after his three-year term with the Bureau, and he and his wife Caroline, and their wee one Sasha, and the newest addition of all who arrived two weeks ago -- the lot of them are going to be sorely missed! But luckily for everybody, Tom has agreed to push papers all about his desktop until the end of the year, when Mr Ananda Tiéga and his family will be arriving to pick up the fallen flag and struggle on with us. Three interns are due to arrive soon and clap themselves into the heavy harness of the Bureau's Work Plan 1997, Ms Raquel Siguenza de Micheo of Guatemala, Ms Ahoua Traore of Cote d'Ivoire, and Mr Jamshed Kaziof Bangladesh, may they hit the ground running! The rest of us will continue to do our best to provide some continuity, and some institutional memory. [Diplomats, note. There is no order to the above items, not alphabetical, not chronological, not nothing; associational perhaps.] [29/8/97]

Where is Mr. Pritchard? Home. But for the month of November, he won't be. Dave Pritchard, manager since 1990 of the Planning and Local Government Unit of RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK) and regular representative to Ramsar from one of the four Ramsar "Partner Organizations" (BirdLife International), will be spending his one-month RSPB sabbatical leave in Trinidad & Tobago assisting in the adoption and implementation of a national wetland policy. His project also includes writing an overview report on aspects of Ramsar Convention implementation in T&T, in order to draw lessons from the use of some of the key mechanisms (most notably the Management Guidance Procedure, applied at Nariva Swamp in 1995) as a positive international example. There are few people still living in this dimension who understand the Ramsar Convention as well as Mr Pritchard does, and we intend to hold him to his promise of regular reports. [29/8/97]

Sweden studies its Ramsar sites. Sweden's Environmental Protection Agency, the Stockholm-based Administrative Authority for the Convention, has recently produced a 21-page report reviewing the protection status of the country's 30 Ramsar Sites, which together cover 382,750 hectares. Compiled by Mr Torsten Larsson, the EPA's focal point on Ramsar issues, the report provides up-to-date information on national and EU protected area designations, land ownership, and implementation of management plans at Swedish Wetlands of International Importance. Amongst the report's conclusions:

• there are 56 nationally protected areas within the 30 Ramsar site boundaries, covering two-thirds of the Ramsar-designated surface area;
• 41 of the 56 nationally protected areas have approved management plans;
• 71% of the surface area of Swedish Ramsar sites is State owned. [29/8/97]

Nicaragua joins the Convention! The Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs of UNESCO has sent the welcome news that Nicaragua has become the 102nd Contracting Party to the Convention, by virtue of having deposited its instrument of accession, as amended by the Protocol of Paris (1982), on 30 July 1997; the Convention will thus enter into force for Nicaragua on 30 November 1997.

Nicaragua's first wetland of international importance, Los Guatuzos, is described in this brief accompanying report (choose English or Spanish versions) by Montserrat Carbonell of the Bureau staff. [23/8/97]

Vacancies at Wetlands International - Asia Pacific. The Wetlands International - Asia Pacific office in Kuala Lumpur has immediate vacancies for the following new key posts. Technical Programme Director: Required to enhance, lead, and monitor the organization's well established technical and training activities throughout the Asia Pacific region; seeking a recognized technical specialist (minimum 10 years' experience) from the natural resources/environment sector with a thorough understanding of wetland issues. Head of Communications and Resource Development [This one has been filled, sorry.]: To establish and manage a new unit that will undertake or coordinate the communications, public awareness and fundraising functions for the headquarters and regional programmes in the Asia Pacific; minimum 5-7 years' experience in marketing and communication and strong commitment to conserving the environment; proven record in fundraising from international agencies/private sector and excellent communication skills required.

Reply to: Administration Manager, Wetlands International - Asia Pacific, IPSR, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA (e-mail: wiap@wiap.nasionet.net, URL: http://ngo.asiapac.net/wetlands, fax : +60 3-7571225). [27/8/97 from the Ramsar Forum]

Regional Coordinator for Africa chosen. At the end of a lengthy search for precisely the right candidate, Mr Anada Tiéga of Niger has been selected to be Ramsar's next RC for Africa, and has accepted, to begin late in 1997; he will be replacing Tom Kabii of Kenya, who is completing his three-year term in the Bureau. Mr Tiéga has a BS from the University of Niamey and an MSc in Forest-Watershed Management from the University of Arizona in Tucson, USA; he also has more than 17 years' professional experience in formulation of conservation and sustainable use strategies at local, national, and regional level, management of technical programmes, and negotiation with government organizations and multilateral financial institutions, as well as expertise in technical subjects related to forestry, arid lands, wildlife and protected areas, and wetlands management. Fluent in Hausa and French, Mr Tiéga also speaks and writes excellent English. He has been serving as IUCN Country Representative in Niger since 1992 and has been IUCN's Regional Coordinator for West Africa. We look forward to welcoming Mr Tiéga and his family to the Bureau and wish him good luck in bringing to fruition the many promising initiatives that Mr Kabii has successfully begun on the continent. [21/8/97]

Hungary names six new sites for the Ramsar List. Authorities in Hungary have submitted Ramsar Information Sheets for six new sites along with boundary extensions for two existing sites. In addition, they have announced the normalization of one of the world's two "seasonally-restricted" Ramsar sites, sites which have Ramsar protection for only part of the year. Brief descriptions of all of these have been drawn from the Information Sheets. [22/8/97]

Work/study opportunity in Thailand. The Mangrove Action Project, in conjunction with Wetlands International - Thailand and the Yadfon Association of Thailand, announces a work/study opportunity involving mangrove reforestation in southern Thailand, planned for early October. Here is the announcement. [20/8/97]

Shorebirds on the Web. The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (Massachusetts, USA) has published a useful list of Web sites dealing with shorebirds in the North American context. It includes the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, the US Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Migratory Bird Management , and Migratory Bird Research at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (http://www.mbr.nbs.gov), among other sites. From WHSRNews, April 1997. (19/8/97)

New Ramsar Intern chosen. Jamshed Kazi will join the Bureau in about October to take up the internship for Asian affairs. A Bangladeshi national, Mr Kazi graduated cum laude from Clark University in Worcester, USA, with a double major in Geography and International Development, then earned an MSc degree in Development Studies (Environment) from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is currently completing a second MSc in Environmental Assessment and Evaluation from the same institution. He will be assisting the Bureau's Regional Coordinator for Asia, Rebecca D'Cruz.

Mr Kazi will be replacing Jocelyn Bowden of Australia, who is coming to the end of her six-months' term and whom we will miss very, very, very much! Two new interns, Ms Raquel Siguenza de Micheo of Guatemala and Ms Ahoua Traore of Cote d'Ivoire, were to have been with us by now but routine visa problems have intervened and put things back by a few weeks. Maryse Mahy continues as intern for the European region and, thank goodness, will be with us for many months to come. [17/8/97]

Pan-European meeting set.The Bureau is sending out diplomatic notification about the 3rd Pan-European Ramsar Regional Meeting slated for Riga, Latvia, 3-5 June 1998, to be hosted by the Government of Latvia. "Pan-European" in RamsarSpeak means 'including Contracting Parties and observer states from both the Eastern and Western European Ramsar regions'. You too can read the very same announcement ad verbum (minus the diplomatic blahblah), right here. [15/8/97]

Sri Lanka's National Wetland Committee. Sri Lanka's National Wetland Steering Committee met on 8 July 1997 with the new Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment chairing. High on the agenda was the proposed National Wetland Policy, a draft of which had already been pondered at a workshop in February. The meeting determined to make the draft available for public comment before finalization of the policy, and translations are now being prepared for the newspapers. Copies will soon be available from the Project Manager, Wetland Conservation Project, Central Environmental Authority, Maligawatte Colombo 10 (tel: +94 1 439073/6). [11/8/97]

Geese on the agenda. Registration is still open for the International Symposium on Geese, to be held in Zwolle, the Netherlands, 30-31 October 1997. The talks will deal with topics such as biology, physiology related to migration, conservation management, feeding strategies, and population dynamics. If you really like geese a lot, this is the place to be around Hallowe'en time. Contact Dr Theo Kemperman (theo.kemperman@pi.net, fax +31 38 423 7025) for further details. [14/8/97] [This picture's not actually geese, but it's all I had at hand. Sorry.]

Research Fellowships posted. The following announcement was posted on the Ramsar Forum, 7 August, by Jon Davies: 1998 UBD Research Fellowship. Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) offers a number of one-year post-doctoral research fellowships within the Faculty of Science for research in Brunei Darussalam. Ecologically orientated research topics are especially encouraged and preference may be given to projects which complement work already in progress. Current research interests within the Biological Department of UBD include the marine and coastal ecosystems, mangroves, peatswamps and freshwater swamp forests, heath and mixed dipterocarp rainforests. Further information on current research, facilities, and terms and conditions can be obtained by contacting Jon Davies via e-mail (jdavies@ubd.edu.bn) or fax (+673-2-249502). [11/8/97]

Asian Regional Meeting set. The dates are firm now, you can write this into your datebooks in laundry ink. The Ramsar Regional Meeting for Asia will convene in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20-24 October 1997. The purpose of the meeting is to promote national and regional actions in accordance with national commitments made for the Ramsar Strategic Plan 1997-2002. The participants will review progress on national implementation of the Plan, develop a Regional Action Plan with agreement on how this will be implemented and monitored, and identify actions for international cooperation and finance. The four-and-a-half day meeting will incorporate a one-day workshop on two issues: "water and wetlands" and "donor policy and practice". You won't want to miss this one! For info, contact Rebecca D'Cruz. [19/7/97]

Subregional Meeting for Central Asia. Kazakstan will play host to a Ramsar subregional workshop to identify priorities for wetland and waterbird conservation in the Central Asian-Indian region, slated for April 1998. [19/7/97]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions to: the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Updated regularly by Dwight Peck, Ramsar.