The Ramsar Bulletin Board, 19 October 2007

Headline story.Ramsar Award for 2008: call for nominations. The Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award was established by the Conference of the Parties in 1996 to recognize and honor the contributions of individuals, organizations, and governments around the world towards promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands. The Award has been conferred in each of three categories at the COPs in 1999, 2002, and 2005, and it will be again at COP10 in Changwon, Republic of Korea, in October-November 2008 - and as in the past it will be complemented by the Evian Special Prize, a cash prize of US$ 10,000 for each of the categories, donated once again by the Danone Group.

Once again, too, the Award will be given in the categories of management, science, and education. Nominations are encouraged of persons or government or non-government organizations that have taken initiatives that have contributed significantly to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, especially those initiatives that might serve as inspirational and practical examples for others. Nominations need to reach the Secretariat by 31 January 2008 (award@ramsar.org) at the latest, and further details, selection criteria, and nomination forms, as well as reports on the past winners and testimonials by some of them about what winning the Award has meant to them, can all be found here. [18/10/07]

Headline story.SGF project seminar in the Unguri-Holosnita Ramsar site in northwest Moldova. In the framework of the Ramsar 2006 Small Grant Fund project "Management Scenario Development for the Unguri-Holosnita New Ramsar Site and Awareness Raising on the Ramsar Convention Wise Use Policy", the second seminar was held the 26th September 2007 in the village of Rudi, part of the Unguri-Holosnita Ramsar site (no1500), a wetland ecosystem which extends northwest where the Dniester River forms the natural borders between Moldova and Ukraine. Ramsar's Monica Zavagli participated in the seminar and prepared this illustrated report. [16/10/07]

Who's Where?

Tobias Salathé, Senior Advisor for Europe, is in Vilm, Germany, 18-22 October 2007, to participate in the training course on Ramsar site management in southern, eastern and central Europe offered by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (as part of the CBD work programme on protected areas). [18/10/07]

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

Yesterday's News!

Ramsar Crane Bank Award finalized. July 10th 2007 saw the Ramsar Crane Bank Award officially materialise at the Crane Bank chambers in Kampala, Uganda, marked by a ceremony of presentation of the Crane Bank support by the Managing Director of Crane Bank Ltd. The Government of Uganda and the Ramsar Secretariat were represented by the Honourable Jessica Eriyo (the Minister of State for Environment) and Mr. Paul Mafabi (the Uganda's Ramsar focal point and chair of the Ramsar Standing Committee). Here is a brief report. [16/10/07]

Now available.COP10 provisional agenda. The provisional agenda for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties is now available. The text will be reviewed and developed further by the Standing Committee at its 36th meeting, 25-29 February 2008. [15/10/07]

Call for Proposals. In the framework of the project Engaging Civil Society in Water Management in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the implementing partner, Wetlands International, is seeking project proposals from Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The project selection criteria, format for proposal submission, and proposal selection process can be found here (PDF). The deadline for submission of proposals is 5 November 2007. [16/10/07]

NorBalWet conference on monitoring of wetlands. In 2006 took place two very successful meetings under the Nordic-Baltic Wetlands Initiative (NorBalWet), one in Sweden focusing on the restoration of wet forests and mires, and one in Norway focusing on restoration of rivers, floodplains, lakes and deltas. This has been followed on 20-22 September 2007 by a conference on monitoring of wetlands held at Lepanina, on the southern Baltic coast of Estonia, organized by the Nature Conservation Department of the Estonian Ministry of the Envrionment, the administrative authority for the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar's Tobias Salathé was there and provides this brief report, with photos and the meeting's conclusions. [12/10/07]

All-Ireland cooperation on biodiversity. The first Joint Meeting of the Biodiversity Forum (RoI), chaired by Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, and the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Group, chaired by Bob Brown, took place in Athlone the 3rd of October 2007 as part of the Annual Biodiversity Conference organized by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from the Republic of Ireland. Attended by a group of 16 people representing the two advisory bodies, the meeting aimed at launching a common strategy on potential issues for all Ireland cooperation. Ramsar's Monica Zavagli participated and has prepared this brief report, with photo. [12/10/07]

4th Asia Regional Conservation Forum. The 4th Asia Regional Conservation Forum, an international conference on environment and sustainable development focusing on the Asia region, was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 10-14 September 2007 with the theme "Synergies for Sustainable Asia". The meeting was organized by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the government of Nepal. Its main aim was to generate a platform for meaningful dialogue on approaches towards critical conservation and development issues in the Asia region, as well as potential solutions, and also to share and foster partnership with different stakeholders. Ms Pragati Tuladhar represented the Ramsar Convention there and filed this illustrated report. [11/10/07]

Clean-up day for Lac Léman. Promoted by the Organisation des Yacht-Clubs et Ports Ecologiques, the annual initiative of "Net' Léman - journée du grand nettoyage du Lac" took place around the Geneva lake (Lac Léman) on the 22nd September 2007. Throughout the day, almost 700 volunteers of every age and provenance were busy with diving and shore clean-up activities. The Ramsar Secretariat, together with other local environmental organizations like ASL, CIPEL, Equiterre, I love my Planet, Pro Natura, and Serbeco, had stands at the lake side with the aim of raising public awareness amongst citizens and portraying educational activities for kids from 5 to12 years old. Monica Zavagli and Evelyn Parh Moloko were there. [11/10/07]

Mediterranean Coast Day, 24 October. "Coast Day is a celebration of life on the coast. It is a day dedicated to the protection of natural coastal environment and its interaction with human culture and socio-economic activities. It aims to raise awareness of policy makers and the public on the value of the coast and on the necessity of using an integrated approach in managing the coastal area. The launch of the Coast Day, organized by PAP/RAC, is planned for October 24th, in Mediterranean countries. The intention is that Coast Day spreads into other countries and that lives on in the years to come." More information at http://www.coastday.org/. [11/10/07]

CREHO course on EIA. CREHO invites applications for an International Course on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Strategic Assessment (ESA) for Wetlands Management.This intensive course will run from November 19 - December 5, 2007 in Panama City and forms part of the Regional Wetlands Training Program for the Western Hemisphere developed by CREHO (the Ramsar Regional Center for Wetlands Training and Research for the Western Hemisphere). Designed for decision-makers and mid-level officials from the governmental, non-governmental, private and international sectors, professionals or technicians working in wetlands-related issues, the programme is 50% theoretical and 50% practical and includes field activities at wetlands showing key environmental, ecological, cultural and economic characteristics, especially vis-à-vis development processes taking place in Latin American countries. The course will take place in Spanish and is financially supported by the Ramsar Convention and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Full details about the course and an application form for sponsorship are available in Spanish and English here. [10/10/07]

New Senior Regional Advisor for the Asia / Pacific region chosen for Ramsar Secretariat. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that Mr Devendra Rana from Nepal has been selected as Senior Regional Advisor for Asia Pacific, succeeding Dr Lei Guangchun. Devendra has over 15 years' experience in environment-development at both field and international levels. He began his professional career in Nepal with the Annapurna Conservation Area Project and went on to establish his own NGO. He joined WWF-International as a member of the Forests for Life Programme and went on to manage the Global Protected Areas Initiative. During this period Devendra was instrumental in developing and promoting the widespread use of WWF's Rapid Assessment and Prioritisation of Protected Area Management methodology. He was formerly Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Regional Programme at WWF-International, a position that involved leading WWF's partnership with the Asian Development Bank.

Devendra holds a BA degree in Geography from Birmingham University in the UK and an MSc in Environment and Development from Imperial College, University of London. The Ramsar Secretariat is looking forward to welcoming Devendra in December. [03/10/07]

Wings Over Wetlands Training and Awareness workshop.From the 25-27th September in Almen, The Netherlands, 34 participants took part in a workshop to review and endorse the WOW project's Training and Awareness Framework, review training needs and priorities in the subregions, identify and prioritise specific modules by subregion, as well as fostering partnerships and collaboration. The WOW project was launched in November 2006 with the aim of improving the conservation status of migratory birds through conserving the wetlands they use along the African-Eurasian Flyway. Key components of the project include fostering international collaboration along the entire flyways, building capacity for monitoring and conservation, and demonstrating best practice in the conservation and wise use of wetlands in 12 selected countries. Sponsored by the Global Environment Facility, the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Secretariat of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (UNEP/AEWA Secretariat) and several other donors, the project is being implemented by Wetlands International and BirdLife International and includes AEWA and Ramsar as key partners. Sandra Hails attended this meeting on behalf of the Secretariat; read her brief report here. [02/10/2007]

Reminder.COP10 National Report Form. The National Report Form for Contracting Parties to report on Convention implementation to the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP10, Republic of Korea, 28 October-4 November 2008) is now available for download from the Ramsar Web site. Following decisions of the Standing Committee, the COP10 National Report Form has been significantly simplified compared with the format used for reporting to COP9 and earlier COPs.

The COP10 NRF (in Microsoft Word format) is presently available in English, and translations into Spanish and French will follow in a few days' time. As soon as it's ready in all three official languages of the Convention, it will also be issued to Contracting Parties on CD-ROM under diplomatic notification. The deadline for the Parties' submission of their completed COP10 National Reports is 31 March 2008, which allows sufficient time for analysis and preparation of the Secretariat's reports to the COP on achievements, challenges, and trends in implementation of the Convention. The Parties' National Reports themselves will be made available on the Ramsar Web site as they are received. [19/09/07]

International university MSc course on “Management of Protected Areas” launched. On 21 September 2007 the second round of the very successful master programme ofthe Klagenfurt University (Austria) on the Management of Protected Areas started with 19 new students from Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Kenya, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Tanzania and Uganda. The Austrian Development Agency is providing some stipends to East African students during this course to make sure that the programme also sufficiently addresses global issues and can provide fruitful exchanges between European experiences and those from other regions. Following the opening ceremony, Ramsar's Tobias Salathé attended the 6th meeting of the course's Advisory Board on 24 September at Klagenfurt to discuss the curriculum 2007-2009, future improvements for the course and ways to make sure that those professionals involved in Ramsar Site (and other protected areas) management projects will increasingly benefit from this course in the future. Tobias Salathé provides more details here. [30/09/07]

The Convention now has 156 Contracting Parties, which have designated 1,676 Wetlands of International Importance. [26/09/07]

Now available.Le Modèle de Rapport national pour la COP10. Le Modèle de Rapport national sur l'application de la Convention que les Parties contractantes doivent préparer pour la 10e Session de la Conférence des Parties contractantes (COP10, République de Corée, 28 octobre - 4 novembre 2008) peut être téléchargé en format Microsoft Word du site Web de Ramsar, ici. Sur décision du Comité permanent, le Modèle de Rapport national à la COP10 a été considérablement simplifié par rapport au Modèle utilisé pour la COP9 et les COP précédentes.

Le Modèle de Rapport national pour la COP10 sera également communiqué aux Parties contractantes sur CD-ROM, dans une note diplomatique. Le délai de dépôt des Rapports nationaux dûment remplis pour la COP10 est fixé au 31 mars 2008, ce qui laisse suffisamment de temps pour l'analyse et la préparation des rapports du Secrétariat à la COP sur les succès, les difficultés et les tendances dans la mise en œuvre de la Convention. Les Rapports nationaux des Parties seront publiés sur le site Web de Ramsar dès réception. [26/09/07]

Now available. El Modelo de Informe Nacional para la COP10. El Modelo de Informe Nacional para que las Partes Contratantes presenten sus informes sobre la aplicación de la Convención a la 10ª reunión de la Conferencia de las Partes Contratantes (COP10, República de Corea, 28 de octubre-4 de noviembre de 2008) ya está disponible en formato Word y se puede descargar desde el sitio web de Ramsar, aquí. A raíz de las decisiones del Comité Permanente, el Modelo de Informe Nacional para la COP10 se ha simplificado considerablemente en comparación con el modelo utilizado para los informes a la COP9 y las COP anteriores.

El Modelo de Informe Nacional para la COP10 también se enviará en CD-ROM a las Partes Contratantes mediante notificación diplomática. El plazo para que las Partes presenten los Informes Nacionales para la COP10 que hayan completado vence el 31 de marzo de 2008, lo cual permite contar con tiempo suficiente para analizar y preparar los informes de la Secretaría que se presentarán a la COP sobre los logros, los retos y las tendencias en la aplicación de la Convención. Conforme se vayan recibiendo los propios Informes Nacionales, se irán poniendo a disposición en el sitio Web de Ramsar. [26/09/07]

From the Ramsar Forum.Nepal announces new Ramsar sites at commemoration. Gandhiv Kafle posts to the Ramsar Forum e-mail list an article by Pragati Shahi in the eKantipur on-line magazine concerning the announcement of four new Ramsar sites by the government of Nepal. The announcement took place at commemorations on the first anniversary of the Ghunsa tragedy, in which the lives of 24 noted conservationists were lost in a helicopter crash. Ramsar's Pragati Tuladhar represented Secretary General Anada Tiéga for the occasion and presented site certificates for the four new Wetlands of International Importance, which will be added to the Ramsar List after the paperwork has been processed in the Secretariat in the coming weeks. Here is the text of the article from eKantipur. [24/09/07]

Conference notes.Australia: Coast to Coast 2008. 'Coast to Coast 2008' will be held in Darwin, Northern Territory, from 18-22nd August 2008. Coast to Coast is Australia's biennial national coastal conference. And 'Coast to Coast 2008' offers the opportunity to consider key coastal challenges and issues from a range of perspectives, to learn about new coastal initiatives and programs that tackle current and emerging issues, to attend workshops of special interest to coastal workers, and to meet, re-connect and network with the many professionals, specialists and people with an interest in the coast. For further information, refer : http://www.coast2coast.org.au/.

Conference notes.USA: "Watersheds and Wetlands". Tenth Annual Watersheds & Wetlands Workshop, Carousel Resort Hotel, Ocean City, MD, October 22-25, 2007. This workshop will increase dialogue and foster partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies, tribal nations, non-governmental organizations, the scientific community, private industry, and all other stakeholders involved in the management of aquatic resources. Topics . . . such as sea-level rise, limited funding for research, monitoring, and restoration, population increase, [etc.] are open for discussion. The workshop will begin on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 9:00 am and continue until Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 4:30 pm. For more information, visit http://www.wetlandsworkgroup.org/wetreg10/10thWorkshop.htm.

Ramsar site co-managers win Australian "National Thiess Riverprize". Last week the co-managers of the "NSW Central Murray State Forests" Ramsar site, along the Murray River in Australia, were awarded the 'National Thiess Riverprize' for excellence in management and restoration of wetlands (and ~ USD $80,000), at the 10th International RiverSymposium, Brisbane, Australia, 3-6 September 2007. Jamie Pittock provides the details and some photos of the area. [20/09/07]

Now available.Handbooks on the Wise Use of Wetlands on CD-ROM. The Ramsar Handbooks include all of the guidelines adopted by the Conference of the Contracting Parties, as well as a good deal of additional illustrative material, and this 3rd edition has been updated through the 9th meeting of the COP in November 2005. The CD-ROM includes all 17 of the Handbooks in Adobe PDF format in English, French, and Spanish versions, with a Web-based interface. The PDF texts are also available for download on this Web site, but the CD-ROM can be ordered free of charge by contacting Ramsar's Montse Riera (riera@ramsar.org) and specifying postal address and number wanted. We sincerely hope that the Handbooks will be useful to you as you progress toward realizing the objectives of the Convention.

The Secretariat wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Department of State for the publication of this edition of the Handbooks. The cover photo is by Blair Hammond, Canadian Wildlife Service. [07/09/07]

Now available. "Waterfowl in the Neotropical Region". A new 64-page publication from Ducks Unlimited, Anátidas de la Región Neotropical = Waterfowl of the Neotropical Region, by Montserrat Carbonell, Ken Kriese, and Karen Alexander, is available in PDF format from the Ducks Unlimited Web site, here. The text is bilingual in English and Spanish and beautifully illustrated, with helpful identification notes as well. [05/09/07]

Position announcement. WWF Representative - Western Melanesia. WWF, the global conservation organization, is seeking to recruit a WWF Representative - Western Melanesia, for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. "We are looking for a highly skilled professional who will lead dynamic and dedicated teams in achieving success in our exciting programme initiatives and manage effective and efficient operating systems so to ensure conservation delivery for our Programme Office based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea." [04/09/07]

Now available. Photos from Standing Committee 35. At long last, some photographs from the 35th meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee, which was held 14-16 February 2007 ("a long time ago"), can be seen here, and still more from the gala dinner in the evening. Photos by Ramsar's Mila Llorens. [03/09/07]

Former Secretary General goes to JNCC. Former Ramsar Secretary General Peter Bridgewater has been appointed as Chairman of the UK and international nature conservation advisory body the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), to begin on 1 October 2007 for a three-year tenure. [03/09/07]

Implementation of Ramsar Convention on High Andean wetlands. "We are pleased to announce the first results of our participatory monitoring programme that started in 2006 in Lake Fúquene. This monitoring team was formed with local community representatives last year to evaluate the state of this Andean ecosystem (which is also part of the HumedAndes initiative). Results of the monitoring programme will be used to propose management actions and for the development of the Management Plan of this wetland complex. Please see news about this group and its legal recognition by the Agriculture Ministry. The whole process, creation of the committee with local people, development of the participatory monitoring programme, etc. are steps in the implementaion of Ramsar Resolution IX.1 dealing with monitoring and also towards the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach for management of the CBD. The monitoring programme, and the Committee itself, have the support of national and local government." -- Lorena Franco Vidal, Fundación Humedales, Bogotá, Colombia. [30/08/07]

World Water Monitoring Day, 18 September 2007. On September 18th 2007, tens of thousands of people in an anticipated 50 countries will celebrate World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). The event, which is organized jointly by the Water Environment Federation (www.wef.org) and the International Water Association (www.iwahq.org) aims to bring public attention to the role that the world's citizens must play in ensuring a sustainable supply of clean, usable water in each and every country. Participants will test the quality of rivers, lakes and other water bodies using a simple monitoring kit. All the water quality data from around the world is collected in the WWMD database, which provides a unique snapshot of the state of the world's water. You can take part by registering one or more monitoring sites in your area on the World Water Monitoring Day web site. Here is the announcement from the International Water Association. [29/08/07]

Position announcement. UNEP-WCMC vacancy in Biodiversity Indicators and Assessment. "Dear friends and colleagues, please see attached vacancy at UNEP-WCMC for a Senior Programme Officer to contribute to our expanding work programme on biodiversity indicators and assessment. I would welcome your assistance in forwarding these details to any high-calibre potential applicant." - from Neville Ash. Here is the announcement in PDF. [28/08/07]

Now available.Poster on Wetlands, Biodiversity, and Climate Change. Many Ramsar Contracting Parties are taking steps to cope with climate change. Ramsar's Resolution VIII.3 recognizes "the potentially important role of wetlands in adapting and mitigating climate change". The Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) is actively working again on that issue, and we look forward to sharing with you the results of this important work. As part of the STRP's work, the Secretariat in March of this year was pleased to host a joint Ramsar/CBD expert workshop on "Wetlands, Water, Biodiversity, and Climate change" in the framework of the 4th CBD/Ramsar Joint Work Plan.

One recent output of this work is an attractive and informative poster summarizing the importance and role of wetlands in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is available in PDF format on the Ramsar Web site here, and we hope that it will be helpful to you in reinforcing partnerships on water-wetlands-biodiversity and climate change issues. Further materials developed from this workshop and the work of the STRP will become available between now and the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in late 2008. [24/08/07]

Position announcement.BirdLife International seeks Fundraising Officer. The Fundraising Officer's job will predominately be to work with the Programme Development Manager to help identify and secure funding for the BirdLife Secretariat (both UK and overseas) and NGO Partners (as appropriate). The job will involve working with, and helping to meet, the funding needs of the BirdLife Secretariat's science and conservation work in every region of the world and working with very large and very small BirdLife Partners. There is considerable scope within this job to learn new skills and for career development. Based at BirdLife International Global Secretariat, Cambridge, UK. Closing date: 21 September 2007. Here is the announcement. [24/08/07]

Position announcement. AEWA Secretariat invites applications for a vacant post. The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is inviting applications for the short-term post of "Consultancy: Coordinator for the Lesser White-fronted Goose Single Species Action Plan" to be based in the Agreement's Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. The closing date for submission of applications by interested candidates is 30 September 2007. For more information please go to http://www.unep-aewa.org/news/vacancy_aewa.htm. This post is being kindly sponsored by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management. (Sergey DERELIEV (Mr.), Technical Officer, UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, UN Campus, Bonn, Germany (sdereliev@unep.de)). [22/08/07]

WWD 2008 : Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People. The Convention's suggested theme for World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2008, is Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People, and this will also be the theme for Ramsar's 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in October-November 2008 in the Republic of Korea. As we approach World Wetlands Day, we have taken an opportunity to introduce to the Ramsar community, and the people you reach out to, a few key topics that exemplify both the direct, positive effects on human health of maintaining healthy wetlands - such as the provision of food, clean water, pharmaceutical products, etc. - and the direct negative effects of mismanaging wetlands that result in the impairment of our health and even the loss of life - such as through the effects of water-related diseases, burning peatlands, floods, and water pollution. Read more here about the materials that the Secretariat is preparing on these themes for you to use, free of charge, in your WWD activities.[21/08/07]

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 ).