The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 5 August 2002

Headline story. Further workshop proceedings from the Dakar International Conference on Wetlands and Development. Two new books have newly been released as long-awaited products of the 2nd International Conference on Wetlands and Development, Dakar, Senegal, November 1998. These A4-format 116-page volumes contain the proceedings of two of the most substantial workshops of the conference and present the full texts of the presentations. Integrated Wetlands and Water Resources Management, edited by Ger Bergkamp, Jean-Yves Pirot, and Silvia Hostettler, contains 14 articles and the conclusions and recommendations of the workshop -- Strategies for Wise Use of Wetlands: Best Practices in Participatory Management, edited by Meg Gawler, includes 16 articles and an overview article by the editor. Further information can be sought from Wetlands International in Wageningen, The Netherlands, tel. +31 317 478854, e-mail wetlands@wetlands.agro.nl, and in the meantime more information, including the tables of contents, can be seen here. [05/08/02]

Announcement.ECRR study tour on river restoration set for 9-13 September. Ute Menke writes: "The main goal of the study tour is to contribute to the further development of a Pan European network on river restoration, which is to carry out its activities under the umbrella of the European Centre for River Restoration (ECRR). Next to the ECRR international conferences, organised once per four years and bringing together representatives from all European regions, ECRR starts to organise yearly study tours. These are regarded as relatively low key activity with interactive exchange of experiences within a smaller group. The study tour is open for all those involved in the fields of management, research and communication of river restoration in Europe. We will start this year with the organisation of the first ECRR study tour in the Netherlands, but in the next years other countries in Europe should take their chance of organising a ECRR study tour and of course the ECRR secretariat will support the activity as much as possible." The full announcement and sign-up details are available here. [05/08/02]

Headline story.Field Guide to the Fish of Tasek Bera Ramsar Site, Pahang, Malaysia. Tasek Bera, a freshwater swamp system situated in Central Peninsular Malaysia, was declared a Ramsar Site in November 1994 when Malaysia became a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention. The lake has a range of conservation values, of which, it is important for its fish biodiversity. At least 94 species have been recorded so far including the endangered Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus and Silver Shark Balantocheilos melanopterus. The majority of fish species found at the site are indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia and the site meets Ramsar criteria 7 and 8 relating to fish conservation, amongst others. Recognising the importance of conserving this unique fish biodiversity in Tasek Bera, Wetlands International-Malaysia Programme has published A Field Guide to the Fish of Tasek Bera Ramsar Site, Pahang, Malaysia with funding from DGIS in July 2002. More detail is available here. [01/08/02]

Who's where? 

Najam Khurshid, Regional Coordinator for Asia, is Beijing and Urumqi, China, for the workshop on "Conservation of High Altitude (Himalayan) Wetlands Lakes, Catchments and Glaciers (A WWF- Ramsar initiative)", 5-9 August 2002. The conference has these objectives: 1) identification of suitable sites for Ramsar listing, World Heritage declaration, Protected Area notification etc., 2) exchange of information and knowledge between countries on experiences in conserving these sites, 3) dialogue on initiating methodology, process for identification of suitable transboundary sites, which could become Ramsar sites, and 4) initiating specific steps to continue the process. [05/08/02]

New on the Site: Wetlands International's review of scientific support for Ramsar's STRP; Pan-American Ramsar meeting report in English and Español; Brief report of allocations for 2002 under the Swiss Ramsar Grant for Africa. [25/07/02]

The Cultural Heritage of Wetlands available in Macedonian.Metodija Velevski, secretary of the Macedonian National Ramsar Committee, writes that a new 25-page full-color illustrated translation of Ramsar's "Cultural Heritage of Wetlands" info pack has been published by the NRC and the Bird Study and Protection Society of Macedonia, including an additional two-page case study with text and photos detailing the ancient fishing techniques on Dojran Lake, a transboundary lake shared by the FYR of Macedonia and Greece. This attractive publication was funded by the IUCN Netherlands Committee under their Small Grants for Wetlands Programme and provides an excellent model for countries wishing to adapt Ramsar public-awareness materials into local languages with Bureau staff assistance and financial support from sympathetic sources. More information here. [31/07/02]

Bolivia names high-Andean Ramsar site. The Ramsar Bureau is delighted to announce that, effective 11 July 2002, Bolivia has designated its 8th Wetland of International Importance. "Lagos Poopó y Uru Uru" (Oruro department, 967,607 ha, 18°46'S 63°13'W), a National Ecological Reserve, are two associated brackish lakes at over 3,600m altitude which fulfil all eight of the Ramsar Criteria and are excellent representatives of the high-altitude Andean wetlands of the Puna ecoregion. Some 76 species of birds have been reported for the site, including about 120,000 individuals of flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis, Phoenicoparrus andinus, and Phoenicoparrus jamesi. Endemic and endangered fauna and flora, such as vicuña and pumas, are supported, as well as the cactus Opuntia and Trichocereus. Two pre-Hispanic cultures, the Aymaras and Urus, the latter believed to be one of the oldest ethnic groups on the continent, dating from 2000-1500 before the common era, are present in the area and practice subsistence agriculture and fishing, with some mining and limited grazing and illegal bird hunting also in evidence.

Hectares sweepstakes. In terms of total area, Bolivia (6,471,995 ha) has now passed Brazil into 5th position in total Ramsar hectarage, behind Canada, the Russian Federation, Botswana, and Peru. There are presently 1180 Ramsar sites, covering 103,250,356 hectares, brought by the 133 Contracting Parties under the Ramsar designation. [30/07/02]

Ramsar Joint Work Plan with SPREP. At the Ramsar Oceania Regional meeting hosted by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa in May 2002, the participants reviewed a draft Joint Work Plan between the Ramsar Convention and SPREP, which will implement the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two organisations signed at the Samoa meeting. Here is the final JWP prepared by SPREP and the Ramsar Bureau with the assistance of former Bureau Deputy Secretary General Bill Phillips. The Plan is designed to help support strengthening capacity in Pacific Island States for wetland conservation and wise use throughout the Pacific Region. Click here please. [26/07/02]

II Pan-American Regional Meeting - Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 2002

Report now available.Pan-American Regional Meeting report. Just as the hilarity begins to fade into memory, the meeting report appears to bring back those poignant moments. Ninety representatives of Ramsar Contracting Parties in both the Neotropical and North America regions, countries not yet Parties, intergovernmental organizations, and national and international NGOs gathered in Ecuador earlier in the month to assess their implementation of the Convention and discuss common regional positions on matters soon to be debated at Ramsar COP8 in Valencia in November 2002. The governments of Canada, Ecuador, Spain, and the United States made the events possible through their generous support. The meeting report is now available in English and Español, and some evocative photos of the meeting and the excursion to the Isla Santay Ramsar site may well begin bobbing to the surface in a matter of a few days. [25/07/02]

News from the SGF. Lithuania completes 1999 SGF project on GIS capacity-building. Ramsar's Sergey Dereliev reports on Lithuania's Small Grants Fund project to provide hardware, software, and training on GIS applications for the management staff of all five Ramsar sites in that country. Read it here before the wire services get hold of it and shape it to their own agendae. [25/07/02]

Volunteer intern in the Bureau. The Bureau is pleased to announce that Ms Maya Kanetsuka has joined the Ramsar staff for the summer months on a volunteer basis, chiefly to assist in preparations for Ramsar COP8. Maya is presently living in Geneva and is also working with the World Health Organization as an intern. [25/07/02]

Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Strategy meeting. The Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee (MWCC), which is responsible for coordinating the development, monitoring and implementation of the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy: 2001-2005, held its 7th Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 19-20 June 2002. The MWCC comprises representation from seven governments (Australia, People's Republic of China, Japan, India, Russia, Indonesia and USA), the Ramsar and Bonn (CMS) Conventions, BirdLife International, the World Wide Fund for Nature, Chairs of Species Working Groups (Anatidae, cranes and shorebirds), UNDP/GEF and Wetlands International Specialist Groups. Here is a brief report of the meeting, with a few subtle photos. [24/07/02]

MedWet Unit staff up to full complement. Spyros Kouvelis, head of Ramsar's MedWet Coordination Unit, based in Athens, Greece, writes: "I am pleased to announce that at last the MedWet Coordination Unit team is complete. Last week, Angela Kyriazis took up her responsibilities as Programme Development Officer, seconded to the MW/CU by EKBY. Angela has a biology background and a good experience on EU-Funded projects as she had been responsible for managing all the LIFE-Nature projects in Greece from 1991-1997, being responsible of the external unit of the Commission's DG XI.D.2 in Athens. Her addition to the team is very good news for us, as we expect her to give a valuable hand with developing a good set of projects for MedWet. She has already started working on developing a concept for the upcoming LIFE-Nature call, for which she will soon get in touch with the MedWet centres. Angela's direct email is kyriazis@medwet.org." [18/07/02]

Restoration of Mediterranean Wetlands (2002). The Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre (EKBY) in Thessaloniki and the Hellenic Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works have published, in conjunction with the MedWet Initiative, a new book on wetland restoration in the Mediterranean region. Edited by Ramsar STRP member George Zalidis of Aristotle University, T. L. Crisman of the University of Florida (USA), and P. A. Gerakis of EKBY, the 237-page softcover volume contains (in addition to a preface by the Ramsar Secretary General, Delmar Blasco) 15 essays on 1) physical, chemical, and biological aspects of restoration, 2) site selection, design, and monitoring of restoration, and 3) case studies of regional restoration experience, authored by a wide range of distinguished scholars, a number of whom are familiar to the Ramsar community, such as Mike Smart, Christian Perennou, Jan Pokorny, and Maria José Vinals. Further information can be sought directly from EKBY, ekby@ekby.gr. [18/07/02]

Photo opportunity. Football at Ramsar. Ramsar staff do not only save wetlands -- some of them, in fact, run after footballs as well. Here's a collectors'-item group photo of the football team of the Three Mighty Environmental Institutions of Gland, Switzerland (IUCN, WWF International, and Ramsar), which regularly trots out onto the field of play against all comers and hopes for the best. [18/07/02]

Tour du Valat seeks Mediterranean project leader. The Tour du Valat Biological Station, a private non-profit organisation, is a research centre for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands. Located in the Camargue, it has a staff of approximately 100 people and cooperates with a wide network of institutional and private partners in and outside France, mainly within the Mediterranean basin. Tour du Valat plays a key role in MedWet, an initiative devoted to the conservation and rational use of Mediterranean wetlands, and now it welcomes applications for the post of Project Leader, Integrated Management of Mediterranean Wetlands. The announcement is available here. [link later removed] [17/07/02]

Ramsar and Akrotiri wetlands, Cyprus. The Akrotiri wetland complex in Cyprus is an important aquatic ecosystem of several interconnected parts: the Akrotiri salt lake, the Phasouri marshes (reedbeds and surrounding wet grasslands), flat open and shrub habitats, and salt marshes connecting the marshes and the salt lake. The Ramsar Bureau was contacted in 2001 by Cypriot individuals and NGOs concerned about construction works inside the ecosystem in the UK's Western Sovereign Base Area on the island's Akrotiri peninsula, for an additional large communications antenna. In August 2001, the British High Commission in Cyprus and the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement on the Akrotiri antenna, in which they agreed among other things to cooperate on resolving the question and work towards Ramsar designation for the site. On 19 June 2002, the Cyprus Green Party convened a seminar on issues related to Akrotiri, and the Ramsar Bureau was invited to participate, together with some 60 local stakeholders and local and national elected officials, NGOs, scientists, legal experts, Cypriot civil servants, and representatives of the Sovereign Base Administration Authority. Here Ramsar's Tobias Salathé reports on the meeting and provides the Bureau's mission report, which offers suggestions for the way forward based upon his discussions with the authorities on the scene. [12/07/02]

Report on Euro Med Ministerial Conference. The Euro Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on the Environment took place in Athens 8 to 10 July 2002, invited by the Greek Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, organized jointly by the Ministry and the EU Commission, and chaired jointly by the Greek Minister for the Environment and the Danish Minister for the Environment (who is currently the President of the European Council of Ministers). Spyros Kouvelis, the MedWet Coordinator, was present, and here are both his brief report of the conference and his presentation to the High-Level Forum portion of the proceedings. [12/07/02]

Germany extends Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea Ramsar site. The Waddensee, shared by the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, is the largest coherent area of tidal flats in the world and of immense international ecological importance. The entire area is managed under a tri-national agreement overseen by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, but in Ramsar terms many of the various parts of it are broken up in a number of designations of Wetlands of International Importance, for example, one large one in the Netherlands and five in Germany. Now Germany has significantly extended its Ramsar site called "Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer" (first designated in 1991) from 299,000 hectares to 454,988 hectares, in a revised Ramsar Information Sheet that Nick Davidson calls a model of a well-compiled RIS, "a great example of how to present information for a large and complex site". As such, the RIS itself will be reproduced here in the coming days. [11/07/02]

Announcement. Call for applications for Ramsar Intern for Africa. The Ramsar Bureau is seeking applications for the position of Intern/Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Africa, to replace Simon Rafanomezantsoa of Madagascar at the end of his successful tenure in the secretariat. For this internship the applicants must be nationals of countries on the African continent and have lived most of their lives in that region. The position requires a very high level of English or French and an ability to work in the other language. The age limit for applicants is 30 years old. Qualified candidates from that region are encouraged to read the general terms of reference for Ramsar Internships and apply by 31 August 2002, to begin on 16 December 2002. [09/07/02]

Reminder.Applications still welcome for Ramsar Secretary General. The Bureau is still welcoming applications for this most senior post in the 20-member Ramsar secretariat based in Gland, Switzerland, near Geneva. The deadline for applications is 30 September 2002, and interviews with shortlisted candidates will take place just prior to the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee, 5-7 February 2003 -- the starting date is foreseen as 21 July 2003. The vacancy announcement, including qualifications sought and terms of reference, is available here in English, Français, and Español. [link later removed] [09/07/02]

Announcement. Additional grant for Global Peatland Initiative.Marcel J. Silvius, Senior Programme Manager at Wetlands International (Silvius@wetlands.agro.nl), writes to Ramsar Forum: "Dear all, I am pleased to announce that the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DGIS, has provided an additional grant to the Global Peatland Initiative, as part of its cooperation with Wetlands International under the 'Partners for Wetlands Programme'. The programme will run until 31 December 2003. The GPI is a partnership programme of the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), the International Peat Society (IPS), Alterra - Green World Research, IUCN-Netherlands Committee, and Wetlands International. Information on the deadlines for proposal submission and how to develop project applications can be found on the Wetlands International Web site." [10/07/02]

Spain names Iberia as official air carrier for Ramsar COP8. The Ministry of Environment of Spain has designated IBERIA as the official carrier for Ramsar COP8. IBERIA offers the special fares described here. Interested participants should contact Iberia and make reference to the code given at the end of this text. / El Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de España ha designado a la compañía Iberia como transportador oficial para la COP8 de Ramsar, la que ofrece las ventajas que se describen a continuación. Para hacer de uso de esta oferta los interesados deben contactar a Iberia y hacer mención del código que se menciona al final del texto. / Le Ministère espagnol de l'Environnement a désigné la compagnie aérienne Iberia comme transporteur officiel pour la COP8 de Ramsar. Iberia propose à cette occasion les tarifs spéciaux indiqués ci-dessous. Pour en bénéficier, les intéressés doivent se mettre en rapport avec Iberia et mentionner le code indiqué à la fin du présent document. [05/07/02][The links are out of date and have been removed.]

Burundi becomes the Convention's 133rd Party. The Bureau is very pleased to report that Burundi deposited its instrument of accession with the Director-General of UNESCO on 5 June 2002, which means that the Convention will come into force for Burundi on 5 October 2002. The new Party's first Ramsar site is Delta de la Rusizi de la Réserve Naturelle de la Rusizi et la partie nord de la zone littorale du lac Tanganyika (1,000 hectares, 03°20'S 029°20'E), part of the Rusizi Nature Reserve. Comprising the Rusizi delta and northern shore of Lake Tanganyika, part of the lower Rusizi plain shared with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the site is considered an "ornithological paradise" for its stopover and nesting places for migratory waterbirds and makes an ecological connection between Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu. In addition to large numbers of aquatic birds, the site supports the reptiles crocodiles and tortoises in significant numbers and a fish life, dominated by the Cichlidae, which presents a marked endemicity - the lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus is also present. Among mammals the hippopotamus is most abundant, and the sitatunga or marshbuck (Tragelaphus spekei), becoming rare throughout Africa, can be found within the site. The use of cattails Typha domingensis in basketry forms an important source of revenue for local people, and customary fishing is practiced in the lakes of the delta. Rice and cotton growing is carried out in the surrounding area, and the use of fertilizers and pesticides is seen as a potential threat to the biodiversity of the delta and lake. The Ramsar family welcomes this new Party and its fascinating new Ramsar site. [04/07/02] [français et/y español]

Ramsar Award winners announced for 2002. The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Awards were created by the Conference of the Parties in 1996, and the first Awards were conferred at the opening ceremonies of Ramsar COP7 in San José, Costa Rica, in 1999. The awards for 2002, to be presented at Ramsar COP8 in Valencia in November 2002, have now been announced. Their purpose is to recognize and honor, every three years, individuals, organizations, and government agencies that have made a significant contribution to wetland conservation and sustainable use in any part of the world. This year the Awards are recognizing a private company in Australia, a government agency in India, and a consortium of NGOs in Central Europe. The Ramsar Award is complemented by the Evian Special Prize, consisting of US$10,000 generously donated by the Danone Group (France), owner of Evian Mineral Waters, as part of a programme of support to the Ramsar Convention.

Belatedly available.Summary of Ramsar Small Grants Fund projects in the 2001 cycle. The Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands established the Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF) with a view to providing assistance for wetland conservation and wise use in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.In the 2001 cycle of project proposals, a total of 49 completed proposals were evaluated by Ramsar staff and presented to the Standing Committee at its 26th meeting, 3-7 December 2001. Within the funds available, a total of nine project proposals were approved for funding in this year's cycle, for a total of 334,890 Swiss francs. In addition, a further five of the SGF proposals were taken over for funding by Wetlands International, as part of its agreement with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), and by the World Wide Fund for Nature's Living Waters Programme, for an additional total of 193,979 Swiss francs. Thus, thanks to this additional assistance, a total of 14 Small Grants Fund projects have received funding in the 2001 cycle, for a total of SFR 528,869 [ca.US$ 330,000 at that time]. Voluntary contributions directly to the Small Grants Fund in the 2001 cycle have been made by Austria, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the USA, and by WWF Living Waters Programme in addition to its two adopted projects. Here is a brief description of the 14 projects. [02/07/02]

Wetlands International launches Strategy 2002-2005. Wetlands International has launched its new Strategy, a document that represents the culmination of two years of collaborative effort from staff, members and partners to re-organize Wetlands International's programme activities into a coherent and integrated global plan - it re-defines and clarifies the organization's focus and presents a clear vision for the future, articulating its major aims for the next four years. The strategy portrays the organization as "a science-based international provider of information and advice for the wise use of wetlands worldwide". The launch letter from Dr Max Finlayson, President of Wetlands International, is available here, and the document itself can be downloaded in PDF format from the Wetlands International Web site at http://www.wetlands.org.[27/06/02]

West Africa Subregional Meeting reported. On 5-7 June, some 63 representatives from Ramsar Contracting Parties, the International Organization Partners, and regional and international organizations gathered in Cotonou, Benin, for the Convention's subregional meeting for West Africa, Madagascar, and Comoros, with the hospitality of the Agence Beninoise de l'Environnement and generous financial assistance from the Governments of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. The participants identified challenges and outlined actions in five major areas: a unified voice in COP8; the wise use of all wetlands; designation and management of Ramsar sites; international cooperation; and implementation capacity. The agreed conclusions are now available here in English [French to follow], with a few representative photos. [20/06/02]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions are welcome 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 Bureau.