The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 5 January 2004

Headline story.Ramsar adds new Assistant for Africa. The Secretariat is delighted to announce that Mr Ahmed El-Sabban (Egypt) has been appointed to the internship position of Assistant Advisor for Africa, to replace the irreplaceable Nassima Aghanim in late February 2004. Ahmed, an agronomist with an MSc in Environmental Management from the International University for African Development in Alexandria, Egypt, is currently working with the Egyptian Ministry of Environment on a GEF/UNDP project on medicinal plants in Egypt. He has previously gained experience in wetlands management, as well as in Ramsar Site designation, during training in surveys and field research for compiling the Ramsar Information Sheet with the French Ministry of Environment and Landscape in Montpellier. He is fluent in Arabic, French and English. [05/01/03]

Happy New Year. The Ramsar Convention Secretariat wishes everyone a happy and productive new year in 2004. Here is a New Year's message from the Secretary General, Dr Peter Bridgewater:

"This is the final day in the International Year of Freshwater, but it will be unfortunate if we simply let the IYF "dry up", like so much of the world's water. For our New Year's resolution, let us, as the Ramsar family, resolve to continue to observe 2004, and every year, as an international year of freshwater - or even IYW, as managing the fresh/salty interface is important as well.

IYF was important to our convention, as wetlands are vital components of the world's water cycle, as well as sources of cultural and biological diversity. For the future, we must strive for an understanding of ecological systems - an understanding that places people in the ecological equation. And as the world struggles to understand the needs and demands of water, our convention's role in protecting, purifying and providing water will become even clearer. By bringing together the philosophy and accumulated technical wisdom of our Convention, and using Wetlands of International Importance as "real life" examples, we can approach sustainable living. And with a full understanding of the interlinkage between cultural and biological diversity, and their linkage with the diversity of place, sustainability can be assured.

At present there are 138 Contracting Parties to the Convention (with 3 waiting for action at the depositary), who together have designated 1328 wetland sites (totalling 111,884,289 hectares) as Wetlands of International Importance. The numbers are great: the challenge now is to put all these places to work for the world, to help the human population become more sustainable in it. A happy and watery New Year to everyone!" [01/01/04]

Headline story. Peatlands workshop set for February 2004.David Lee (david@genet.po.my), Technical Officer, Global Environment Centre, has announced that a Workshop on Integrated Management and Rehabilitation of Peatlands, organized by the GEC and Wetlands International, will take place 6-7 February 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, in association with COP7 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 19th Global Biodiversity Forum. It will be "an opportunity to showcase issues on peatlands that are related to the different items of CBD such as Biodiversity and Climate Change, and Inland Water and Mountain Biodiversity. . . . The workshop will also address issues related to the ASEAN Peatland Management Initiative (APMI)." Further details can be found at the www.peat-portal.net or from David Lee directly. [01/01/04]

New on the Site: Frantic planning for World Wetlands Day, less than two months away; Final draft of the 3rd Ramsar Manual, for comment; Agenda documentation for the 30th meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee, slated for Gland in mid-January 2004. [20/12/03]

News from the Wetlands for the Future Fund.News from Nueva publicación sobre el pastoreo en humedales altoandinos. La Wildlife Conservation Society - Bolivia, en coordinación con el Grupo para la Conservación de Flamencos Altoandinos y la Dirección General de Biodiversidad del Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible de Bolivia; ha publicado las memorias del taller: "Uso pastoril de humedales altoandinos", que tuvo lugar en Huarina y La Paz - Bolivia, del 28 de octubre al 1 de noviembre de 2002 con auspicio del Fondo Humedales para el Futuro. / Grazing in High Andean Wetlands - New Publication.The Wildlife Conservation Society-Bolivia, in coordination with the High Andean Flamingo Conservation Group and the Ramsar Administrative Authority in Bolivia, has published the proceedings of the workshop: "Grazing use of high Andean wetlands", which took place in Huarina and La Paz, Bolivia, in late 2002 with support from the Wetlands for the Future Fund (WFF/01-2/BOL/1). Read more here in Español and English. [27/12/03]

New CEO appointed for Wetlands International. Wetlands International's news announcement: "We are pleased to confirm that Jane Madgwick has been appointed as the new CEO of Wetlands International. A UK citizen, Jane Madgwick has an outstanding record of success while working both in NGOs and government positions, and comes to us from WWF Australia, where she was also a member of the core team for WWF's global Living Waters Programme. Jane has over 15 years of experience of work in the field of wetlands conservation and had previously set up WWF International's Freshwater Programme for Europe and the Middle East while working with WWF International. She takes up her new post in March 2004; meanwhile, Douglas Taylor will continue until then as Interim CEO, to ensure continuity of leadership." [23/12/03]

From the Ramsar Forum.Second National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration, September 12-15, 2004 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center and the Grand Hyatt in Seattle, Washington. Clare Stark (cstark@estuaries.org), Communications Coordinator for Restore America's Estuaries, writes: "Restore America's Estuaries is thrilled to announce that the Habitat Restoration Community for our coasts and estuaries will be gathering together again - this time in Seattle. The Second National Conference will advance the knowledge, pace, practice and success of coastal and estuarine habitat restoration. The Conference will address habitat restoration in coastal and estuarine areas of the United States, including the Great Lakes region, as well as international initiatives and issues. As part of our internatioal focus, we will be having a presentation on the restoration of Iraq's Mesopotamian Marshlands. The Conference will also feature a focus on restoration challenges and opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, with an emphasis on transferable lessons learned. For more information on the Conference, visit our website at http://www.estuaries.org/2ndnationalconference.php, or contact Nicole Maylett at nmaylett@estuaries.org. The Call for Presentations and Posters is available online at http://www.estuaries.org/objects/2004RAECFP.pdf. [links later removed] The deadline for presentations is February 2, 2004 and the deadline for posters is March 1, 2004. Conference registration is scheduled to begin in March 2004." [22/12/03]

The Ramsar Convention in Thailand. In late November and early December 2003, Ramsar's Senior Advisor for the Asia/Pacific, Dr Guangchun Lei, attended Thailand's National Workshop on the Ramsar Convention and visited the two Wetlands of International Importance -- Krabi Estuary and the Nong Bong Kai Non-Hunting Area -- that are the subject of the DANIDA-funded 2001-2006 project "Implementation of the Ramsar Convention in Thailand". Here is Guangchun's brief illustrated report on the workshop and the visits and his assessment of Thailand's rapid progress since joining the Convention in 1998. [20/12/03]

Portugal accedes to AEWA. On 11 December 2003 Portugal deposited its instruments of accession of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). Portugal will become as of 1 March 2004 the 44th Contracting Party to the Agreement. Portugal covers 89,000 km2 and also has two archipelagos, the Azores and Madeira. More than 30 Important Bird Areas have been identified of which several support one or more species of Migratory Waterbird, e.g., Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Eurasian Spoonbil (Platalea leucorodia), Teal (Anas crecca), Common Crane (Grus grus), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), etc. The coastal and inland wetlands of Portugal are of importance for migratory waterbirds as wintering or staging sites. Over the past few months several countries of the EU joined the Agreement, and the last three EU countries are finalizing the internal process to join the Agreement in due course. The Secretariat hopes that this might be a clear signal of the importance of AEWA regarding conservation of migratory waterbirds to ranges states in other regions and that this will lead to more accessions in the nearby future. Finally on behalf of the Contracting Parties, the UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat welcomes Portugal to the 'AEWA family'. -- reported by Bert Lenten, Executive Secretary of the UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat. [18/12/03]

Now available.Pre-publication version of the 3rd Ramsar Manual. When the Ramsar Manual was first compiled by T. J. Davis and published in 1994, it was enthusiastically welcomed as an essential vade mecum through the sometimes bewildering world of Ramsar resolutions, guidelines, and terminology. A second edition (left) was published in 1997, incorporating all of the institutional changes of the preceding three years and including all of the Convention's major documents at that time. Then, in view of the subsequent publication of the 9-volume "Ramsar Toolkit" (The Ramsar Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands), the Manual seemed less useful and was let go out of print. Since then, however, many people have argued that there is still a need for a brief, printed introduction to the Convention and its processes, and a new, updated third edition has now been prepared which will be published on CD-ROM in early 2004 as an adjunct to the new 14-volume 2nd edition of the Ramsar Handbooks series.

The pre-publication final English draft of this new Ramsar Manual is now available on the Ramsar Web site in HTML and PDF versions, and comments are invited as to improvements or additions that readers might like to see made to it. In early 2004, this text and its French and Spanish translations will be professionally laid out and included as an unnumbered supplement with the 14 volumes of the Ramsar Toolkit. Your comments will be welcome before then to . Click here for the HTML version, here for the PDF. [17/12/03]

Millennium Assessment book now on sale. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is an "international process designed to meet the needs of decision-makers and the public for scientific information concerning the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being," launched by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in June 2001. Parties to the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Desertification, Wetlands (Ramsar), and Migratory Species have been targeted in this 4-year initiative for scientific information to assist in the implementation of these treaties. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: a Framework for Assessment is the MA's first product, the work of scientists from more than 100 countries, a 245-page book that offers an overview of the project, describing the conceptual framework that is being used, defining its scope, and providing a baseline of understanding that all participants need to move forward. Much of the work of the MA is directly informing the present efforts of Ramsar's STRP in providing guidance to the Parties on inventory, assessment, and monitoring and in its review of the "wise use guidelines". Among the MA's future products will be a Ramsar Synthesis Report that will compile all of the MA's findings relative to wetlands and be launched at Ramsar COP9 in late 2005. This useful new book has already been distributed by the MA to Ramsar's "Administrative Authorities" in the Parties, and it is now available in paper- or hardcover from the Island Press (http://www.islandpress.com) for US$ 25 (softcover). [16/12/03]

Lough Neagh Fund invites applications. Lough Neagh is the largest inland water area in the British Isles, covering an area of approximately 383 square kilometres. It is located in the centre of Northern Ireland and is bordered by five of the six counties. It has a very significant influence on waterways throughout Northern Ireland and parts of the border counties. The shoreline of the lough extends to approximately 125 kilometres and includes seven local Council areas, Antrim, Ballymena, Cookstown, Craigavon, Dungannon, Lisburn and Magherafelt. The Lough Neagh Strategic Fund is a new £3.2 million initiative funded under the E.U. Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity to support work to help achieve implementation of parts of the Lough Neagh Management Strategy. Many parts of the Strategy are the responsibility of statutory sector bodies, however much also needs to be done by the community, individuals, local authorities and private businesses. The Lough Neagh Strategic Fund will seek to fund and support these bodies to help develop the Lough in an economic, environmental and socially sustainable way. The Lough Neagh Strategic Fund will operate from 2003 to 2008. More here. [15/12/03]

WasSerleben brochure highlights Austria's best wetland projects. On World Wetlands Day 2002, the "WasSerleben" campaign was launched by the Austrian "Lebensministerium" (i.e. the "Life Ministry", the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water, in charge of Ramsar), the Austrian League for Nature Conservation (Naturschutzbund Oesterreich) and the Austrian Federal Forests Ltd company (Oesterreichische Bundesforste AG), as a major contribution to the implementation of the national CEPA programme. The "WasSerleben" (meaning "water life" and "experience something") campaign focuses upon all sorts of aquatic ecosystems in Austria and has continued to address many fields during the 2003 UN Year of Freshwater, as outlined in a leaflet recently produced by the campaign partners. The leaflet (in German, available from the Ramsar Secretariat on request) highlights a number of the campaign's best-practice projects, and a bit more information is available here. [12/12/03]

Conservation Finance Guide available on CD-ROM. "As nations around the world plan and implement biodiversity conservation programmes, a major challenge has been, and remains, generating adequate long-term funding. In recent years, a range of sustainable conservation finance mechanisms has been developed to provide reliable, long-term sources of funding for on-the-ground conservation programmes." The Conservation Finance Alliance is made up of a number of leading intergovernmental and governmental agencies and NGOs dedicated to increasing awareness of the range of finance mechanisms available -- it includes the Ramsar Convention, UNDP, IUCN, WWF, The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, USAID and Germany's GTZ, among others. Their CD-ROM Conservation Finance Guide, a replica of their Web site, has been reprinted and a copy can be obtained free of charge from the Ramsar Secretariat (write to Ramsar's Senior Trade and Development Advisor Alain Lambert, lambert@ramsar.org). [10/12/03]

Crane Workshop marks Ramsar COP5 anniversary in Kushiro. To help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ramsar's 5th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Kushiro, 1993), the government of Kushiro City organized a series of activities at the Kushiro Tourism and International Relations Center (the same building where the Ramsar COP5 was convened), one of which was the workshop and symposium organized by the North East Asian Crane Site Network on the crane and stork conservation in Japan. Since its launch in 1997 the North East Asian Crane Site Network (NEACSN) has organized many activities to establish closer links amongst researchers and site workers from Russia, Mongolia, China, Korea (both North and South), and Japan (the headquarters of the coordination of the NEACSN is at the Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ)). Here Simba Chan of the Wild Bird Society of Japan and Flyway Officer of the North East Asian Crane Site Networkreports on this 14-16 November 2003 workshop and seminar and supplies a few evocative photographs. [10/12/03]

Seminar on integrated water management in the Tisza river basin. The Tisza river is one of the large tributaries in the Danube catchment in eastern Europe and the major river in the Carpathian basin, originating in Ukraine, then flowing along the border with Romania and Hungary and touching briefly upon Slovakia before crossing southwards across the Hungarian plain to reach the Vojvodina region of Serbia and entering the Danube between Novi Sad and Belgrade (draining thus a catchment of about 157,000km2). To encourage dialogue, present the individual views concerning the Tisza river basin management of the five basin countries, and achieve as much common ground as possible, the FAO Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe organized a seminar on 20-21 November 2003 in Budapest, with the Ramsar Secretariat invited to moderate the discussions, and further supported by Wetlands International in the framework of a Dutch-supported project on transboundary cooperation on Ramsar Site designation in the Upper Tisza river basin. Tobias Salathé describes the results of the meeting and provides ample background on the history and issues involved. [09/12/03]

Abou Bamba joins the Ramsar Secretariat. Mr Abou Bamba from Côte d'Ivoire has arrived in the Ramsar offices to take up his position as Senior Advisor for Africa, succeeding Mr Anada Tiéga. Mr Bamba has been working most recently with the Network for Environment and Sustainable Development in Africa (NESDA) since 1998, first as Program Officer and Acting Coordinator, since 2001 as Coordinator, and has most recently helped to organize the First meeting of African Parliamentarians on the Ramsar Convention and Wetlands, sponsored by Ramsar, NESDA, and the Government of Benin in Cotonou, 27-28 November. The Secretariat welcomes Mr Bamba and looks forward to continued progress in achieving the Convention's objectives in Africa. [09/12/03]

News from MedWet. Ramsar visit to the MedWet Team. MedWet reports: "On 4-5 December 2003, the Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention Mr Nick Davidson was in Athens, Greece, in order to work with the MW Coordinator Spyros Kouvelis, the staff of the MedWet Coordination Unit and the Senior MedWet Advisor Thymio Papayannis. Nick Davidson, now responsible for Regional Initiatives on behalf of the Convention, visited the Coordination Unit in order to exchange information and views on the work carried out and planned by MedWet and on the associated work of the Ramsar Secretariat (new title of the former Ramsar Bureau), as well as to provide guidance and maximise positive synergy and communication between Ramsar and MedWet. The Coordination Unit wishes to thank Nick Davidson and the Ramsar Secretariat for their interest and involvement. To view photos from meeting and dinner, click here." [09/12/03]

Announcement.Wise Use of Peatlands congress set for June 2004. The International Peat Society and the Finnish Peatland Society have sent out a second circular and call for papers for the "Wise Use of Peatlands" meeting, the 12th International Peat Congress set for 6-11 June 2004 in Tampere, Finland. The keynote speakers will be Clayton Rubec, Hans Joosten, Sundari Ramakrishna, and Jukka Laine. The brochure, which presents the schedule of session themes as well as the field trips and post-meeting excursion options, can be obtained from the Congress Secretariat, ips2004@congreszon.fi. [09/12/03]

Austria and peatlands. With the slogan "Aktiv für Moore" ("Active for peatbogs"), the Austrian Federal Forest Agency (Oesterreichische Bundesforsten) and WWF Austria launched a programme in 2000 for the restoration of peatbogs. As in many temperate European countries, Austrian peatlands have been degraded to a large extent over the past century through excessive drainage, peat cutting, afforestation policies, tourist infrastructures (cable lifts, ski slopes, etc.), or intensive grazing. The Austrian peatland restoration programme started with a demonstration project in Ueberlingmoos, a bog drained and grazed since the 1920s. Small-scale dams were successfully placed across all crucial drainage ditches to re-wet this valuable bog ecosystem. Since then, the lessons learnt have served for restoration measures applied to rehabilitate another 10 degraded peatbogs, and more activities are now planned to cover another 15 sites. The project partners have now produced a 24-page brochure that illustrates the variety of Austrian peatlands, the concrete works undertaken to rehabilitate their functions, and presents some of the key sites, as well as a map showing the distribution of peatlands in Austria and the 25 project sites. The brochure also makes reference to Ramsar's guidelines for global action on peatlands. Our Standing Committee member Gerhard Sigmund briefly explains the implementation of the Convention in Austria and lists six Austrian peatlands that are foreseen for Ramsar designation in the near future. If you would like to receive a copy of this nicely illustrated brochure (in German) please contact the Ramsar Bureau (europe@ramsar.org). -- reported by Tobias Salathé [08/12/03]

Ramsar Advisory Mission to the Ukrainian Danube Delta. On 27-31 October 2003 a joint mission was carried out by the Man and Biosphere Programme (MaB) of UNESCO and the Ramsar Secretariat to the Danube Biosphere Reserve and Kyliiske Mouth Ramsar Site. The core zone of this protected area covers the most pristine and dynamic part of the large Danube Delta. The Delta region is internationally recognized as a transboundary Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site, covering nearly 700,000 hectares in Ukraine and Romania. The State Agency for Protected Areas (Ramsar's Administrative Authority in Ukraine) of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources invited two experts, Dr Jan Kvet, chairman of the Czech National MaB Committee and member of the MaB Bureau, and Dr Tobias Salathé from the Ramsar Secretariat to advise the Ukrainian authorities about measures to improve the functioning of the protected area, especially in the light of the planned construction of a waterway through the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta. Their recommendations regarding the different alternatives proposed for navigation routes through the delta will be available on this Web site as Ramsar Advisory Mission report no. 53. In the meantime we invite you to enjoy some pictures from Vilkovo, also known as the "Venice of the East". Brief report and photos by Tobias Salathé. [05/12/03]

Now available. Opening address to the Parliamentarians' meeting. Members of parliaments and representatives of river basin commissions in the West and Central African subregions gathered for two days, 27-28 November 2003, in Cotonou, Benin, as guests of the Government of Benin, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the Network for Environment and Sustainable Development in Africa (NESDA), with financial backing from the Government of Sweden, to be briefed on opportunities for cooperation on wetland conservation and wise use and the role of the Convention in assisting countries in the region. A report of the meeting and the declaration agreed by the participants, as well as photographs of the field excursion to a nearby Ramsar site, will be ready soon, but in the meantime, here is the opening address to the meeting by Ramsar's Secretary General, Peter Bridgewater, in which he emphasized the ways in which the Convention can be effective in helping policymakers confront the challenges of diminishing water quality and quantity in Africa. [04/12/03]

SWS calls for Ramsar Support Grant proposals. The Society of Wetland Scientists is soliciting proposals for their Ramsar Support Grant Programme. The annual grant programme was established in 1999 to advance Ramsar Convention objectives, including the selection, designation, management, and networking of Ramsar sites, and the promotion of Ramsar's Wise Use guidelines. Two to five projects are funded each year at a level of US $5,000 on a competitive basis as reviewed by an evaluation committee. Only applicants working on Ramsar-related activities in less-developed countries are eligible to receive grants under this program. Priority is given to projects being conducted in countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee List of Aid Recipients, which can be found on the Internet at <www.oecd.org>. Grant guidelines, an application form, and a description of previous grant awards can be found on the SWS Web site or you can request these materials from: Eric Gilman, Society of Wetland Scientists, Ramsar Support Grant Program, 2718 Napua`a Place, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA, E-mail: ericgilman@earthlink.net. Applications must be received by 1 March 2004. [03/12/03]

Oceania Wetlands Help-line gaining fans. In May of this year Bill Phillips (former Ramsar Deputy Secretary General) established the Wetlands Help-line Web site (www.wetlandshelp-line.com), created as a service to the community to provide an easy entry point to information about wetlands, their management, the Ramsar Convention's various tools, and Ramsar sites of the Oceania region (i.e., Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island States). Wetlandshelp-line.com is designed to support the Ramsar Web site and the Convention's global program on communication, education and public awareness (CEPA), and based on the statistics on visitors to the site, it seems to be helping. Since May the number of visitors to the site has steadily increased and now averages 2,000-3,000 per week. Although the Web site was established primarily to assist wetland practitioners from the Oceania region, visitors have come from more than 50 countries. The site includes a virtual tour of the Ramsar sites of the Oceania region (still somewhat 'under construction'). A few weeks ago the site had a facelift - see graphic - and (for those in the Oceania region) there are now bookmarks available to raise awareness of the site so that more people can access it and provide further resource materials. For further information, or some bookmarks, contact wetlandshelp-line@mainstream.com.au. [02/12/03]

Paraguay designates its 5th Ramsar site. The Ramsar Secretariat is very pleased to announce that the Government of Paraguay has designated "Laguna Chaco Lodge" (2,500 hectares, 22º17'S, 059º18'W), a private reserve in the Presidente Hayes department, as its fifth Wetland of International Importance, bringing its total Ramsar surface area to 777,500 hectares. As described by Ramsar's Iván Darío Valencia from the accompanying Ramsar Information Sheet, Chaco Lodge is a saltwater lake, the largest of the water bodies in the lake system of the Central Chaco, surrounded by xerophytic woods and shrubs and halophytic vegetation. The site is one of the few relatively undisturbed natural areas in the Chaco, hosting an impressive biodiversity, including the endangered Chacoan Peccary Catagonus wagneri and the Brazilian Tapir Tapirus terrestris. Several wintering shorebird species are abundant, with up to 25,000 Wilson's Phalaropes Phalaropus tricolor, 4,000 White Rumped Sandpipers Calidris fuscicollis, and 3,000 Pectoral Sandpipers Calidris melanotos, all of them figures above 1% threshold. Chaco Lodge is entirely devoted to conservation and small scale ecotourism, and hunting and cattle ranching pressures from the surrounding area are very limited. The greatest threat, however, comes from the intense drought affecting the region the past few years. The site designation was carried out with the support of the NGO Fundación DeSdelChaco (Foundation for the Sustainable Development of the South American Chaco). More details and photos are available here. [02/12/03] [Español] [Français]

New publications on agriculture from Living Waters. WWF's Living Waters Programme has produced two new brochures to help spread awareness of the global water crisis and, specifically, the role of agricultural practices in that. "Agricultural Water Use and River Basin Conservation" (36pp.) provides an assessment of the crops that use most water in nine large river basins that are globally important for biodiversity conservation (Lake Chad, Niger, Zambezi, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, Murray-Darling, Great Konya, and Rio Grande). It has been adapted from the recent WWF study by Rob de Nooy, "Water Use for Agriculture in Priority River Basins", and also recommends a series of measures for the four thirstiest crops - cotton, sugar, rice, and wheat - that could be adopted by farmers and irrigation engineers to increase water efficiency whilst maintaining output. "Thirsty Crops - Our food and clothes: eating up nature and wearing out the environment?" (19pp.) summarizes many of the same facts and arguments in an attractive and colorful format. The two leaflets, in English only, can be requested in hard copy from Berna Heikamp (bheikamp@wwf.nl) of Living Waters in the Netherlands or Amalia Romeo (aromeo@wwfint.org) of WWF International in Switzerland -- both of them as well as the de Nooy study can be downloaded in PDF format from http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/freshwater/index.cfm. [01/12/03]

Bangladesh enlarges Sundarbans Ramsar site. The government of Bangladesh has recently provided an updated Ramsar Information Sheet on its Sundarbans Ramsar site, first designated for the Ramsar List in May 1992, enlarging its area from 596,000 to 601,700 hectares. Now to be called "Sundarbans Reserved Forest", this Ramsar and World Heritage site is one of the most important mangrove forests in the world and has been significantly threatened from a number of directions for many years. The nearby Sundarbans mangrove forest across the border in India is not yet a Ramsar site but it is hoped that it will be soon. This extension increase the area of Bangladesh's two Wetlands of International Importance to 611,200 hectares. Ramsar's Liazzat Rabbiosi has distilled from the new RIS a brief summary of the site's main ecological and cultural features, and that's available, with photographs, right here. [26/11/03]

Global wetlands surveyed from space. On 20 November the European Space Agency (ESA) formally began a project to map wetlands from space, providing data on around 50 sites in 21 countries worldwide. ESA's new €1 million Globwetland project is producing satellite-derived and geo-referenced products including inventory maps and digital elevation models of wetlands and the surrounding catchment areas. These products are intended to aid local and national authorities in fulfilling their Ramsar obligations, and should also function as a helpful tool for wetland managers and scientific researchers. The project will be carried out by an international consortium headed by the Canadian high-tech company Atlantis Scientific Inc., and the team is completed by the Dutch company SYNOPTICS, the German company Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH, and Wetlands International. More information is available from the ESA's press release today, the text which has been reprinted on our site as well. [25/11/03]

Waterbirds conference planned for April 2004. "Waterbirds Around the World is the first conference to focus entirely on all major themes and developments related to the global conservation of waterbird flyways during their full annual cycle: breeding areas, stop-over sites and wintering areas. It will address the achievements of the last 40-50 years and consider the need for initiatives to stimulate future conservation, research and management, not only of the world's migratory waterbird flyways, but also of threatened non-migratory species" (from the brochure). This "global review of the conservation, management and research of the world's major flyways" will be organized by Wetlands International and hosted in Edinburgh, UK, 3-8 April 2004 by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Scottish Natural Heritage of the UK and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service serving as co-chair and the sponsorship of a large number of other organizations, including the Ramsar Convention. For further information about the conference, side events, and excursions, and the application forms, visit the Wetlands International Web site or write to the Conference Secretary General, Dr Gerard C. Boere, International Programme Director, gerard.boere@wetlands.org. [25/11/03]

News from the Wetlands for the Future Fund. Reserve Personnel Training in Laguna del Tigre, Ramsar Site in Guatemala [Capacitación de personal de reservas en la Laguna del Tigre]. With funding support of Wetlands for the Future (project WFF/01-2/GTM/1), Fundación Propetén (www.propeten.org) carried out in 2002 the "School of Agroforestry promoters and Wetland Park Rangers" in the Las Guacamayas Biological Station in Laguna del Tigre National Park (Ramsar site in the Montreux record). The course was developed by an interdisciplinary group of biologists, agronomists, environmental educators and sociologists. 39 community leaders and park rangers graduated from the course, including personnel from the National Commission of Protected Areas (CONANP). Here is Iván Darío Valencia's brief report in English and in Español. [24/11/03]

More to follow. Watch this space. Feedback and suggestions are welcome to: the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 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 Secretariat.