The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 6 October 2003

Headline story.Sustainable management seminar concluded in Argentina. The International Seminar on Wetland Sustainable Management in Latin America took place in Paraná, 25-27 September 2003, organized by Fundación Proteger-Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina, with the support of Wetlands International and the Ramsar Convention. More than 700 participants from several parts of the world discussed and shared experiences regarding wetland sustainable management alternatives, and a number of important recommendations were concluded, including political commitments for a major Ramsar site designation along the 'Paraná Floodplain Fluvial Wetlands Corridor'. The press release from the Fundación Proteger can be seen here in English and Español, with photos, as well as a reprint of an article in English from the Buenos Aires Herald. [06/10/03]

Headline story.Les zones humides et la ressource en eau - Guide technique. Les Agences de l'eau (France) proposent un guide à l'usage des gestionnaires sur " Les zones humides et la ressource en eau". Ce guide présente une synthèse des connaissances sur les zones humides et propose un ensemble de techniques à mettre en œuvre pour contribuer à une meilleure gestion de leur rôle fonctionnel et patrimonial. ICI. [29/09/03]

The Water Agencies (France) present a French-language guide book addressed to managers dealing with "Wetlands and water resource". This guide proposes a synthesis of the knowledge on wetlands and reports a set of techniques to be implemented in order to improve the management of their functional and patrimonial roles. It answers the most frequent questions through a hundred convenient cards about typology, functions, threats, actions, monitoring. HERE.

Who's where? 

Guangchun Lei, Regional Coordinator for Asia, is in Brunei to participate the International Symposium on Conservation and Wise use of Mangroves in Southeast Asia (6-8 October), and then meet with Brunei Government Officers, with travel support from the Ramsar Center Japan. (03/10/03)

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser for Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Cuba for the 4th International Seminar on Wetlands, 5-11 October 2003, where he will make a number of presentations on conservation finance and on economic valuation techniques. (03/10/03)

Margarita Astrálaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is in Parana City, Argentina, for the International Seminar on Sustainable Development of Wetlands in Latin America - International Symposium on Ecotourism and Wetlands, 25-27 September, her participation supported by Fundación Proteger and WWF Living Waters Programme. After a week working with the Administrative Authority in Buenos Aires, she will participate in the Western Hemisphere Migratory Birds Conference in Termas de Puyehe, Chile, 6-8 October, at the invitation of the US State Department and Fish and Wildlife Service, where a hemispheric strategy for the conservation of migratory wildlife from North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean will be under development. (23/09/03)

Iván Dario Valencia, Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is joining Margarita Astrálaga at the Western Hemisphere Migratory Birds Conference in Termas de Puyehe, Chile, 6-8 October 2003. (03/10/03)

New on the Site: Himalayan wetland conservation action plan framework;Photos of Ghodaghodi Lake in Nepal; New Memo of Cooperation, IUCN and Ramsar. [25/09/03]

Workshop on Waterbird Conservation, Dafeng City, China, 4-6 November 2003. Zhang Xiaohong (wetgef@public.bta.net.cn) announces that a workshop on waterbird conservation, organized by Wetlands International-China Office and Dafeng National Nature Reserve will be held in Dafeng City in Jiangsu Province on the eastern coast of China from 4-6 November 2003. It follows an initial workshop held at Panjin, Liaoning Province in August 2002, in which the participants developed a list of recommendations for improving waterbird conservation in China. This second workshop at Dafeng will review and advance the implementation of these recommendations, and it will also help to progress the development of a National Implementation Plan for Shorebird Conservation in China. The workshop will be followed by a one-day visit to the Dafeng NNR coastal wetlands, one of the most important wintering and stop-over sites in the East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Flyway, a Ramsar site and a critical site for migratory waterbird and habitat management. The workshop and technical visit will provide a unique opportunity for participants to see examples of how wetlands conservation for waterbirds and can proceed. Here is the full announcement and programme and contact details. [28/09/03]

Czech Biosphere Reserve expanded to include Ramsar sites. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé reports that the Biosphere Reserve Palava (covering essentially limestone hills with an important biodiversity and many sub-mediterranean species), in the south of the Czech Republic, has recently been expanded to include the Dyje-Morava floodplains with its extensive oak forests (again with a specific assembly of important species supported). This brings the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve more in line with (and largely overlapping) the Ramsar sites "Lednice fishponds" and "Floodplain of the lower Dyje River" and can partly also be seen as a result of the international workshop organized in October 2003 by the Czech Man and Biosphere National Committee (with the participation of the Ramsar Bureau and others, reported here). Josef Chytil, until recently secretary of the Czech Ramsar Committee, working in the management authority of the now extended Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site, has provided further detail and some excellent photographs, and a map as well. [26/09/03]

Now available. Framework for Himalayan Action Plan. In August 2002, the WWF International, the Ramsar Bureau, and the Government of the People's Republic of China organized a regional workshop in Urumqi, China, on 'Conservation of High Altitude Wetlands in the Himalayas'. This workshop marked the initiation of a regional cooperation on wetland conservation in the high mountain areas with a wide range of participation from countries in the Himalayan-Tianshan continuum. The workshop resulted in the 'Urumqi Call' for specific collaborative actions. In order to implement the Urumqi Call and the Ramsar Resolution VIII.12 on Himalayan wetlands, WWF International, the Ramsar Bureau, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) jointly organized a follow-up workshop on 'Wetland Conservation and Wise Use in the Himalayan High Mountains' from August 30 to September 1, 2003, in Kathmandu (reported here). Now one of the outputs of that workshop, the Framework for an Action Plan on "Wetland Conservation and Wise Use in the Himalayan High Mountains", is available here and on the Web sites of the other workshop organizers. [25/09/03]

Photos available.Nepal's Ghodaghodi Lake."Ghodaghodi Lake Area" is a new 2,563-hectare Ramsar site in Kailali District, a large and shallow oxbow lake with associated marshes and meadows surrounded by tropical deciduous forest on the lower slopes of Siwalik, the youngest mountain range of the Himalaya in Western Nepal. Its designation, with two other sites in Nepal, was reported here, and now K. C. Sandip has sent us some of his very good photographs of the site. Here they are. [25/09/03]

Announcement. The 7th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 25-30 July 2004. In the week of 25 - 30 July 2004, Utrecht University will organize the 7th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in the city of Utrecht, The Netherlands. This Conference will be organized under the auspices of the International Association of Ecology (INTECOL) under the title "Wetland Science and Water Resources Management". Here is the announcement and link to the Web site, from Prof. Jos T.A. Verhoeven. [23/09/03]

Training course on environmental education for the North East Asian Crane Site Network, Mongolia. Since its launch in 1997, the North East Asian Crane Site Network has organized activities such as workshops, symposia, children art exhibitions, and training courses to promote conservation of cranes and their habitats in North East Asia. Recently, with financial support from the Société des Eaux Minerales d'Evian of the Danone Corporate Group (France), through the Ramsar Convention Bureau, and the Nippon Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation (Japan), a training course in environmental education was held at the Daguur Strictly Protected Area, Dornod Province, Mongolia, from 25 August to 1 September 2003. The Siberian Crane GEF Program, China Wetland GEF Program, the UNDP Eastern Steppe Biodiversity Conservation Program in Mongolia, and the International Crane Foundation all contributed in sponsoring participants and assisting the training course. For one week all participants stayed on the Mongolian steppe by Duruu Lake at the Daguur Strictly Protected Area, living in Mongolian gers and tents. Simba Chan has provided this brief report with photos and list of Crane Network sites. [20/09/03]

Vacancy announcement.Fundraising Manager.Wetlands International is seeking to fill the new position of Fundraising Manager. "This is a demanding, challenging and exciting role, requiring a creative individual with highly developed communication skills. The post holder must have the ability to convince and influence others to support our work, by working with the Global Management Team to build and maintain relationships with new and current funders." More details here.[link later removed] [19/09/03]

Annonce.Politiques de préservation des zones humides: exemples et progrès réalisés sur la scène mondiale / Políticas de Conservación de Humedales: Ejemplos y Progreso en el Escenario Mundial. Last month we posted a notice from Clayton Rubec of Canada about the Wetland Conservation Policy: Examples and Progress on the World Scene session planned for the INTECOL VII International Wetlands Conference in Utrecht in July 2004. Estelle Gironnet and Iván Dario Valencia have provided French and Spanish translations of that announcement, available right here -- please bring them to the attention of your francophile and hispanophile friends and relations. [19/09/03]

From the Ramsar Forum.Wetlands 2003: Landscape Scale Wetland Assessment and Management. "Greetings- State agencies, tribal agencies, federal agencies, local governments, wetland consultants, non-profits, landowners, developers, and others may be interested in the three-day national symposium (and optional one day of field trips) on Landscape Scale Wetland Assessment and Management to be held in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, October 20-23, 2003. The three day agenda will include plenary and concurrent sessions, a Monday evening reception, exhibits and poster sessions and field trips. For more information visit the website of the Association of State Wetlands Managers at: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/2003am/cover9.htm. Best regards, Sandy Crystall, Wetlands Bureau, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, PO Box 95, Concord, NH 03301, USA (web site: www.des.state.nh.us/wetlands, email: scrystall@des.state.nh.us)". [19/09/03]

From the Ramsar Forum. International Seminar on Wetlands Sustainable Management.Jorge Cappato, Coordinador General of Fundación PROTEGER-Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina, sends information about the International Seminar on Wetlands Sustainable Management in Latin America and the International Symposium on Ecotourism and Wetlands, to take place in Paraná, Argentina, 25-27 September 2003. Sponsored and supported by Wetlands International, the Ramsar Convention, WWF, IUCN, Ríos Vivos, Argentina Federation Amigos de la Tierra, Avina Fundation, the National Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development, National Park Administration, Cofema-Regional NEA, the Institute of Touristic Development of Entre Ríos, the Secretary of State of Production of Entre Ríos and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, whew!, the event should prove to be a stimulating exchange. Here is Jorge's message to the Forum. [18/09/03]

Announcement.Consultant sought for Jordan project. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), an active and innovative Jordanian non-government organization, is looking to recruit an experienced consultant for the PDF-Block B Grant for the development and preparation of the Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Rift Valley Project. The main objective of this project is to secure the ecological integrity of the Jordan Rift valley, as a globally important ecological corridor and migratory flyway, through a combination of site protection and management, nature -based socio-economic development and land use planning. Here are the details.[link later removed] [18/09/03]

Nepal designates three new Ramsar sites. The Ramsar Bureau is very pleased to announce that the Kingdom of Nepal, which acceded to the Convention in 1987 with its famous Koshi Tappu wetlands, has now added three more sites to its network of Wetlands of International Importance. Dr T M Maskey, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, informs the Bureau that as of 13 August 2003 two forested oxbow lake systems, Beeshazar and Associated Lakes (3,200 hectares, 27°37'N 084°26'E), a legal buffer zone of the Royal Chitawan National Park and World Heritage site, and Ghodaghodi Lake Area (2,563 ha, 28°41'N 080°57'E) in Kailali district, as well as a small irrigation reservoir, Jagadishpur Reservoir (225 ha, 27°35'N 083°05'E) in Kapilvastu, can be added to the Ramsar List, chiefly because of their support for threatened and endangered species of birds and mammals, bringing Nepal's total to four Ramsar sites covering 23,488 hectares. IUCN-Nepal has been very helpful to the government in preparing the data sheets for these significant new designations. Ramsar's Liazzat Rabbiosi has provided these brief descriptions of these new sites, which bring the present global Ramsar total to 1313 sites covering 110,971,197 hectares, or 1.1 million square kilometres. [17/09/03] [français et/y español]

Integrated Water Resource Management course in Switzerland. For the second time in 2003, the Swiss Centre of Hydrogeology (CHYN) at Neuchâtel University has organized a one-week course from 30 August to 6 September 2003 on "Applied Integrated Water Resource Management", in cooperation with the World Bank Institute and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and with active input from the Ramsar Bureau, IUCN-ELC, WBCSD, FAO, WSSCC and others (cf. course programme below). In addition, an excursion brought the course participants to a visit of the water station Moyat in the Gorges de l'Areuse close to Neuchâtel. Here, the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds (35,000 inhabitants) is capturing underground water from the Jura limestone karst aquifer next to the Areuse river for drinking water supply some 30 kms away. The Areuse river provides the force to generate electricity (with turbines installed on-the-spot) to pump the drinking water 500m up to the high valley of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Tobias Salathé reports on the course, and Ramsar's contribution to it, and includes photos of the Moyat water station as well. [16/09/03]

Updated information. China Peat Workshop, July 2004. New information about the International Workshop on Peatland Conservation and Sustainable Use has been sent by David Lee of the Global Environment Centre. Here is the second announcement as updated. [16/09/03]

MOC between IUCN and the Ramsar Bureau signed at World Parks Congress. Collaboration between the Ramsar Bureau and three of the four "International Organization Partners" (BirdLife International, Wetlands International, and WWF International), as well as with many other organizations and convention secretariats, is shaped by formal agreements signed over the past few years (more info here), but Ramsar relations with IUCN-The World Conservation Union, which has been hosting the Bureau since the permanent secretariat was established in 1988 (and performing secretariat duties for many years before that), have until now been governed by a woefully inadequate administrative agreement dating all the way back to 1991 (here), when many of our readers were still in short trousers. That's all been changed now. In ceremonies held during the World Parks Conference in Durban, Secretary General Peter Bridgewater and IUCN Director General Achim Steiner are signing a new Memorandum of Cooperation which enunciates in detail all the ways in which the two organizations have been, are, and will continue to fulfill the 21 operational objectives of the Ramsar Strategic Plan 2003-2008. Here is a reprint of IUCN's press release on the signing and the text of the new MOC and its technical annex. [13/09/03]

Wetlands International signs MOU with China for wetland conservation and wise use.Zhang Xiaohong, Senior Project Officer, Wetlands International-China, and Yuan Jun, Central Project Management Unit, UNDP/GEF China Wetland Project, State Forestry Administration, write: "Mr.Marcel Silvius, Senior Programme Manager, on behalf of Wetlands International, has signed the agreement document with Mr Li Yucai,Vice Minister of the State Forestry Administration of China, on Conservation and Sustainable Development on 8th of September 2003. Both sides exchanged ideas on the common issues concerned in a friendly atmosphere. Both parties expressed confidence that a close cooperation on wetlands conservation and wise use would be strengthened in the coming years. Please make the announcement on the Ramsar Forum." An unofficial reprint of the new MOU is available on this Web site. [12/09/03]

From the World Parks Congress, 10 September. "Peter Bridgewater, Ramsar Convention Secretary General, introduced the stream on linkages in the landscape and seascape. He stressed the importance of management beyond PA boundaries, and noted the interlinkages between terrestrial and marine PAs. He suggested considering the negative consequences of building corridors, and highlighted that biodiversity conservation should address the genetic, species, community and landscape and seascape levels." (Text & photo from Earth Negotiations Bulletin.) In addition, on 10 September, the side event "Freshwater: WWF, Ramsar sites and International Basin Management" was to be held in the VIP Lounge, a joint initiative between the Bureau of the Ramsar Convention and WWF International. It was intended to be a high profile occasion with an Opening speech by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, WWF President, and a statement from Dr. Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention. It was meant to assess progress in Ramsar site designations undertaken with the support of WWF/Living Waters & Ramsar Convention Bureau globally. A special recognition of the significant achievements made by the Ramsar Contracting Parties was to be made. One looks for a report on this event in due course. [12/09/03]

Madagascar designates its third Ramsar site. The Ramsar Bureau is very pleased to announce that Madagascar, which joined the Convention in 1998, has named its third Wetland of International Importance, as of 9 September 2003. Nassima Aghanim reports, based on the Ramsar Information Sheet, that "Le Lac Alaotra: les zones humides et bassins versants" (722,500 hectares, 17°28'S 048°31'E) in Ambatondrazaka prefecture comprises a large lake of some 20,000 hectares, surrounded by 23,500 ha. of marsh and 117,000 ha. of rice plantations, and including over 500,000 ha. of the surrounding catchment and water courses, between 750 and 1250m altitude. The site is an excellent representative example of the natural wetlands of the eastern Madagascar biogeographical region and includes nine of twenty inland wetland types identified in the Ramsar system of classification, as well as seven of the 10 human-made wetland types. The site provides habitat for three endemic species, all of which are seriously threatened - the grey lemur Hapalemur griseus alaotrensis, the Alaotra grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus, and the Madagascar pochard Aythya innotata - as well as for five very rare, indigenous species of fish and some 30 species of waterbirds. The wetlands surrounding the lake have religious significance. The rice plantations, the premier rice-producing area in the country, are under a cooperative water-management association of rice-producers and other users. The introduction of alien fish species, and to some extent alien plant species as well, are seen to be a potential threat for the future.

Now available.Brief report of Kushiro's lagoons workshop. Reiko Nakamurawrites: "I am very pleased to inform you that the International Workshop on the Wise Use of Lagoon Wetlands was held successfully, to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Ramsar COP 5, at the Kushiro Conference Room of Kushiro Tourism and International Relations Center, Kushiro, Japan, on 23 - 25 July, 2003.Many participants attended this workshop, 90 participants from Japan and 20 participants from overseas, and numerous study cases were introduced through oral presentations and a poster session. We all concurred on extremely important functions of lagoon wetlands, especially for maintaining biodiversity and for biological production including many marine fish species. Moreover, we agreed to regard the government and the local communities as the most important stakeholders for the wise use of lagoon wetlands, and to use sound scientific and factual information such as economic valuations of lagoons in order to influence decision makers on sustainable lagoon management." A brief report and a few photos can be seen here. [10/09/03]

Earthwatch invites project proposals. Earthwatch is a science and education charity that provides financial and volunteer support for scientific field research, in order to generate objective research data, promote public understanding, and take the action necessary for a sustainable environment. In the past 32 years, Earthwatch has enabled scientists to conduct research in marine, life, earth and social sciences on over 2,800 projects in 118 countries. Here is some more detail and a call for project proposals. [10/09/03]

World Parks Congress gets under way. The Vth IUCN World Congress on Protected Areas, or World Parks Congress, has begun in Durban, South Africa, 8-17 September 2003. IUCN-the World Conservation Union organizes the Congress every ten years to take stock of protected areas, evaulate progress and lack of it, and chart the course for protected areas over the next decade. The 2003 Congress' theme is "Benefits Beyond Boundaries." Central issues that participants will address will be the role of protected areas in alleviating poverty, how protected areas adapt and anticipate global change, the place of protected areas as a part of a sustainable future, and the contribution of protected areas to security. A number of events in which Ramsar will be taking a prominent part will be reported here over the coming week. [09/09/03]

Two new projects for MedWet. The MedWet Coordination Unit announces the start of two new projects in the Mediterranean region, very different in scale of funding, but both potentially very significant for the future work and implementation of the Ramsar Convention: 1. 'Agriculture, Water and Wetlands' will be funded by Inwent-Capacity Building International to the sum of 100,000 EUR for a rapid project to initiate and launch a local dialogue leading to tangible solutions for reducing the conflicts of interest at the field level between water uses and other economic uses of wetlands (especially as related to agriculture practices) and environmental protection, and conduct a regional workshop; and 2. 'North African Wetlands Network (NAWN)', "Maghreb wetlands - Reinforcing capacities for the management of wetlands in North Africa", funded by the EU's LIFE project and the participating countries (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), with a total budget of just over 1,280,000 EUR for 3 years. The general objective of the project is assist and consolidate the implementation of policies for the management of wetlands in those countries, with special emphasis on the Ramsar site Merja Zerga (Morocco), Sebkhat El Kelbia (Tunisia), and the Ramsar site Reghaia (Algeria). Further detail has been provided by the MedWet Coordinator, Spyros Kouvelis. [09/09/03]

Aquatic Bird Habitat Map of the Southern Altiplano or Puna. Terry Boyle writes: "This is to announce the first edition of the Aquatic Bird Habitat Map of the Southern Altiplano or Puna. The map is based on a research project conducted by investigators from the USGS Fort Collins Science Center and the National University of Salta Argentina supported by a grant from the Committee for Research and Exploration National Geographical Society. The website was created by the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center. The area encompassed by the map is 245,000 square kilometers and includes a number of Argentine and Chilean National Parks, UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserves, and six Ramsar International Wetland Sites. Here are the details, in English and in Español. [09/09/03]From the Ramsar Forum.

Now available.Ramsar Interns, class of 2003. A few photos of the present group of Assistants to the Ramsar Regional Coordinators -- Nassima Aghanim, Estelle Gironnet, Liazzat Rabbiosi, and Iván Dario Valencia -- can be seen here. In fact, group photos of previous generations of Ramsar interns are also easily to be found. [08/09/03]

CD-ROM on water resources for children in Latin America.The General Water Directorate in Chilehas produced, with support from the Ramsar Convention's Wetlands for the Future Fund, a CD-ROM which compiles school teaching material on water resources and their sustainable management for children between 10 and 13 years old and their teachers. This material consists of 4 fully-coloured textbooks on the following topics: 1. Water as a Source of Life, 2. Water and our Environment, 3. The Water Law in Chile, 4. Integrated Water Basin Management. More details are available in the CEPA section of this Web site (English, Español). [08/09/03]

Workshop on Himalayan wetlands, Kathmandu, Nepal. Following the successful workshop on conservation of high Himalayan mountain wetlands held in Urumqi, China, in August 2002, WWF International, the Ramsar Bureau, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) jointly organized a follow-up workshop on "Wetland Conservation and Wise Use in Himalayan High Mountains" from August 30 to September 1, 2003, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The participants came from eleven countries including the representatives of Administrative Authorities of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Kyrgyz Republic as well as national and international agencies and institutions. The overall goal of the workshop was to strengthen regional cooperation to promote and implement the conservation and sustainable use of high mountain wetlands in the Himalayan region. Financial support was provided by WWF International. The outcomes of the workshop will be available soon, but in the meantime here are some further details and a few photos by Liazzat Rabbiosi. [06/09/03] [Now available: the workshop's Framework for an Action Plan on "Wetland Conservation and Wise Use in the Himalayan High Mountains".]

Now available.Sexto Período de Sesiones de la Conferencia de las Partes de la Convención de Lucha contra la Desertificación, La Habana, Cuba, 25 de agosto a 5 de septiembre de 2003 -- Declaración de la Convención Ramsar sobre Humedales (Ramsar, Irán 1971), Margarita Astrálaga. [05/09/03]

From the Ramsar Forum. Protecting marine landscapes in the Irish Sea. David Stroud, Ramsar STRP member from the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee, writes to the Ramsar Forum on 3 September: "The UK Review of Marine Nature Conservation recommended setting up a pilot project to test the potential for an ecosystem approach to managing the marine environment at a regional sea scale. To this end, the Irish Sea is one of the most ecologically-distinct and recognisable regional seas around the UK, having a semi-enclosed geography and identifiable range of stakeholders and activities. The Pilot project aims to examine the potential for regional sea management over the whole Irish Sea. . . . Note that while much of this project involves truly marine areas, much (including most of content the consultation reports [now available]) relates to coastal and estuarine areas of the Irish Sea that fall within the scope of the Ramsar Convention. This project may thus be of interest not only in the context of some of STRP's current work programme, but also to the wider Ramsar community." His description of the interesting project is available right here. [04/09/03]

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.