Who was where, 2002?

A collection of travel news about Ramsar Bureau staff, in reverse chronological order, drawn from the Who's Where? feature of the Ramsar Bulletin Board.

For more old Ramsar Bureau travel news, see also 'Who Was Where', 2000, 2001

Sergey Dereliev is at the Doñana Ramsar site in Spain for the 7th Goose Specialist Group Meeting to be held in El Rocio. [16/12/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Montreal, Canada, for a CBD Ramsar workshop on the rapid assessment of inland waters biodiversity; he'll be back in the Bureau on 6 December. [02/12/02]

Margarita Astralaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is in Iquique, Chile, for the Regional Workshop on High Andean Wetlands, 5-6 December, followed by a visit to the El Salar del Huasco Ramsar site, where a GEF project is presently being implemented and a Ramsar SGF project is soon to begin. On 9 December she will be participating in a stakeholders' meeting to discuss draft strategy on a project with CONAF-Chile on conservation and management of the high Andean wetlands in the north of Chile. [02/12/02]

Tobias Salathé is participating in the first meeting of a proposed partnership on linking Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (FRESHCO) in Denmark, organized by the UNEP Collaborating Centre on Water and Environment and many partners. [31/10/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, is representing Ramsar/ MedWet in the First Egyptian-International Conference on Protected Areas and Sustainable Development. The Conference is organized by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs / Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, in Sharm el Sheikh (www.eeaa.gov.eg - upcoming event section). [23/10/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Paris, 22 October 2002, for a meeting of the French National Wetlands Committee. [22/10/02]

Margarita Astralaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is in Bonaire, Lower Antilles, 17-24 October 2002, for a conference with the cute title "International Treaties and Agreements: A Bunch of Bureaucracy or Platforms for Change?". [22/10/02

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, has been participating in the Man and the Biosphere workshop in Trebon, Czech Republic, and is expected back in the Bureau tomorrow, 18 October. [17/10/02]

Simon Rafanomezantsoa, Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Madagascar to attend a workshop on the development of a national strategic plan and sustainable use of wetlands in Madagascar, a project funded through the Ramsar SGF (SGF/00/MDG). [13/10/02]

Sergei Dereliev, Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Europe, is attending the Meeting of BirdLife International's Ferruginous Duck Conservation Team -- "Ferruginous Duck: From Research to Conservation"! -- in Sofia, Bulgaria, 11-14 October 2002. [11/10/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, Najam Khurshid, Regional Coordinator for Asia, and Ibrahim Shaame, Accountant, are all in Beirut, Lebanon, for the Ramsar Subregional Meeting for the Middle East, 7-9 October 2002, in preparation for COP8. [07/10/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Lelystad, The Netherlands, for the closing session of the international training wetland course and the subsequent board meeting. [02/10/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, is in Rome, Italy, for the Plan Bleu (UNEP/MAP) conference on "progress towards water demand management in the Mediterranean region", where he will be delivering a keynote address. [02/10/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is leading a Ramsar Advisory Mission, supported by invited experts Francesc Giro and Luis Costa to Doñana, Spain. [02/10/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Brussels for the 5th meeting of the Multi-stakeholder Forum "EU Water Initiative", under the direction of the EC Directorate-General Environment. [02/10/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Madrid for discussions with the Ramsar COP8 organizing committee. [27/09/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Brussels for an EVALUWET workshop, 24-26 September, on progress with EU-supported research projects on wetland functional assessment, monitoring, etc. [24/09/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Comoros, 16-24 September, to help the UNDP/GEF prepare an environmental fund for the management of local protected areas, including Ramsar sites. Following that he will be visiting the Seychelles, 25-26 September, to discuss possible accession to the Convention. [17/09/02]

Najam Khurshid, Regional Coordinator for Asia, is participating in the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) Meeting of the Parties (MOP:-)), in Bonn, Germany, 23-27 September 2002. [23/09/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Bonn, Germany, 13-20 September, for the meeting of the Scientific Council of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Convention's COP7. Whilst there, he will also be conferring on the draft Joint Work Plan between Ramsar and the CMS and its African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), which is nearing finalization. [13/09/02]

Margarita Atralaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is visiting a number of Caribbean island states, 16-19 September, to discuss accession to the Convention with a number of states which have not yet done so. More detail here. [16/09/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Commacchio and the Po Delta in Italy for a constitutory meeting of the "Delta chiama delta" association which groups several Mediterranean deltas and Ramsar sites, as part of a follow-up of the MedWet4/Danone project. [06/09/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. [26/08/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Advisor for Environment and Development, is on the "island of Vilm" for training sessions on conservation finance mechanisms for protected area managers of EU accession.

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Lelystad, The Netherlands, for the opening session of this year's RIZA-WATC Wetlands Management Training Course, 17 August, and at Wetlands International in Wageningen for a meeting with WI and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) secretariat on agreeing a partnership approach on the African-Eurasian Flyways UNEP-GEF project now in development. [22/08/02]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Djibouti 17-22 August for a workshop on Ramsar accession and mechanisms for implementation of the Convention. [17/08/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Advisor for Environment and Development, is in Brussels 7 August for the 4th meeting of the Multistakeholder Forum "EU Water Initiative", including discussions of the draft paper EU Water Initiative - Water for Life and its finalization for the Johannesburg World Summit. Alain will be presenting contributions to the Water for Life document that have been drawn up by the Swiss Environment Ministry and the Ramsar Bureau with input from WWF International. [07/08/02]

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]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Angola until 21 July to participate in a Ramsar workshop on accession process and initial groundwork to facilitate the implementation of the Convention. [12/07/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 15-17 July, for a planning meeting of IUCN's Commission on Ecosystem Management for further development of the CEM's planning "Global plan of action to promote ecosystem restoration". [15/07/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, Margarita Astrálaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, and Julio Montes de Oca, Assistant to the Regional Coordinator, are participating in the 2nd Pan-American Regional Meeting in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 1-5 July 2002. Background information here. [01/07/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, is at the Tour du Valat Biological Station in southern France to participate in the Regional Advisory Committee meeting of the MedWet/Coast project. (26/06/02)

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Cotonou, Benin, 17-23 June 2002, for meetings concerning transboundary management planning for three important parts of the "W" wetland system, two of which are already Ramsar sites (in Burkina Faso and Niger) and a third of which has been proposed (in Benin). Parts of the wetland system are also part of World Heritage and UNESCO Man and the Biosphere, and the purpose of the discussions is to try to put these management efforts all together, in the context of a 5-year EC-funded project, and integrate the whole into planning for the entire Niger Basin. Anada will then travel on to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to advise in the setting-up of an IUCN-sponsored degree programme for wetland managers for West Africa, sponsored by IUCN, at the University of Ouagadougou. (17/06/02)

Najam Khurshid, Regional Coordinator for Asia, is in Selangor, Malaysia, to attend the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee Meeting, and will be back in the Bureau on 22 June. (19/06/02)

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Frascati, Rome, for a progress meeting of the European Space Agency's TESEO projects, one of which is specifically studying the use of Earth Observation in supporting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention, particularly in relation to wetland management. [17/06/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Cyprus for meetings with the Ramsar Administrative Authority there and discussions concerning the potential designation of the Akrotiri salt lake (on the British Sovereign Base area) as a joint Ramsar site with the UK. [17/06/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Valencia, Spain, for consultations on the preparations for Ramsar COP8, and then travels on to Mallorca for the meeting of the Spanish National Ramsar Committee. (11/06/02)

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Nigeria for consultations with the Ramsar authorities in that country. (11/06/02)

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, and Carmen Revenga(World Resources Institute, on loan to Ramsar) are in Wageningen, Netherlands, to participate in the Liaison Group meeting on 13-15 June for the CBD's review and elaboration of their programme of work on inland water ecosystems [see related story]. Traveling with them are Carmen's colleague from WRI, Yumiko Kura, and Bill Phillips (former Ramsar Deputy Secretary General, now of MainStream Environmental Consultants, Australia), who has been participating in Ramsar's Ad Hoc CEPA Working Group meeting, 10-11 June. [12/06/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Valencia, Spain, for consultations on the preparations for Ramsar COP8, and then travels on to Mallorca for the meeting of the Spanish National Ramsar Committee. (11/06/02)

The Ramsar Outreach Meeting is taking place at the Ramsar Bureau, 10-11 June 2002; organized by the Bureau's outreach coordinator, Sandra Hails, the purpose of the Outreach Ad Hoc Working Group meeting is to progress a draft Resolution and new Outreach Programme for COP8 that will carry onward from the Outreach Programme 1999-2002 adopted by COP7 in 1999. [11/06/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Indonesia 28 May to 6 June for the 4th Preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development set for Johannesburg, 2 - 11 September 2002. [30/05/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, and his assistant Simon Rafanomezantsoa are headed for Cotonou, Benin, for the Ramsar Subregional Meeting for West Africa, Madagascar, and the Comores, 5-7 June 2002. [03/06/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Radolfzell, Germany, for the wetland management training course and EU-LIFE project steering committee meeting of the Global Nature Fund. [04/06/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in London for an English Heritage seminar on the launch of their wetlands strategy, 28-29 May. [28/05/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Minsk, Belarus, for a conference on the conservation of floodplains and lowland mires in the Podlesie region, 22-26 May. [22/05/02]

Margarita Astràlaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is attending the Iberoamerican workshop on Participatory Management of Wetlands, Antigua, Guatemala, 5-10 May, organized by the Ministry of Environment of Spain. Following that, she will attend the "World Congress on Paramos" in Colombia, 12-16 May, and then will be representing the Bureau at the CBD Marine Protected Areas working group meeing at Marahau, New Zealand (17-27 May 2002). [08/05/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, has gone for a stop in Canberra and then on to the Ramsar Oceania Regional Meeting, hosted by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa from 6-8 May 2002. During this meeting the Bureau will sign a Memorandum of Cooperation with SPREP on collaboration on the implementation of the Convention in the Pacific. The meeting will also discuss a draft Ramsar-SPREP Joint Work Plan. The Regional meeting will focus on ways and means of developing closer links between Pacific island states and the Ramsar Convention, including progress towards accession, and will also review Ramsar's draft Strategic Plan 2003-2008 to ensure it addresses priority wetland issues of Pacific island states, and the implementation of the new CBD-Ramsar 3rd Joint Work Plan (2002-2006) recently endorsed by CBD's COP6. [03/05/ 2002]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, following the MedWet/Regions meeting in Spain, is in Tunis for a 2-day meeting on the SAP-Bio (Strategic Action Plan on Biodiversity) programme, run by the RAC/SPA of UNEP/MAP. MedWet is a member of the Steering Committee, and this is an important meeting since the RAC/SPA has made a very significant proposal for collaboration with MedWet under this programme, on inventory methodologies, training and public awareness and action plans. [07/05/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Galicia, Spain, to address a Friends of the Earth meeting on youth and wetlands and speak to a course on communications, education, and public awareness at the university there. He will be back in the secretariat on Friday afternoon, 3 May. [01/05/02]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Representative for Africa, is in Dakar, Senegal, for a meeting organized by the UNCCD/Global Mechanism for West and Central Africa; he will be highlighting the role of river basin organizations in wetland conservation, desertification control, and food security plans, drawing upon Ramsar's successful work with the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Niger Basin Authority. [22/04/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, is in Brussels participating in the 4th SMAP Correspondents meeting (23-25 Apr.). SMAP is the environmental part, including the policy and funding tool, of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and an important gate for MedWet to be a player in the region, along with MAP/UNEP and METAP. On Monday he will be in Tunisia to participate in the meeting organised by the Ministry of Agriculture of Tunisia and MedWet with national NGOs and research institutions, to finalise arrangements for the Tunisian MedWet focal unit of the North African Wetlands Network, and then to Sevilla for the MedWet/Regions meeting.

Margarita Astralaga, Regional Representative for the Americas, is in Nayarit, Mexico, for a meeting of the Trilateral Committee on Environment for North America. [21/04/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, following the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in the Hague, is representing the Ramsar Bureau at Wetlands International's Board of Directors meeting in Wageningen, The Netherlands, and returning to the Bureau on 22 April. [21/04/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, is in Thessaloniki for a meeting of the ad hoc group on Dojran Lake, 17-18 April 2002. [17/04/02]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Ardèche, France, for a meeting with transboundary site managers from Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, to discuss transboundary management planning issues along the Niger River in an ongoing project sponsored by the European Commission. [15/04/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in The Hague, The Netherlands, participating in the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, returning to the Bureau on 22 April. [12/04/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is en route from The Hague, having participated in opening sessions of the 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, will take his place for the remainder of the COP, returning to the Bureau on 22 April. [11/04/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser for Environment and Development Cooperation, is attending the Conference for African Environmental Funds: Sustainable Finance for Conservation in Africa, April 3rd-6th, 2002 in Arusha, Tanzania.[02/04/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is at the United Nations in New York, 25-29 March 2002, representing the Ramsar Convention at the 3rd Preparatory Committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The discussions at this meeting (the penultimate PrepCom for WSSD) will be further negotiations on the draft of the "Chairman's paper" which contains a number of issues and areas of activity of great relevance to the Ramsar Convention. Whilst in New York he will also take the opportunity to meet with CIESIN representatives to discuss the further development of the Ramsar Data Gateway and its presentation at COP8. [25/03/02]

Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, and Nejib Benessaiah, are in Libya to prepare for a workshop on national wetlands inventory. [25/03/02]

Sergey Dereliev, Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Bulgaria for a 27 March meeting with Deputy Minister Ms Fatme Iliaz, Head of the Ramsar Administration Authority in the government, and several NGOs, and, on the 27th, for the first meeting of the Bulgarian National Ramsar Committee. [27/03/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, Anada Tiéga and Simon Rafanomezantsoa, Regional Coordinator for Africa and his assistant, and Spyros Kouvelis and Nejib Benessaiah of the MedWet Coordination Unit, are participating in the Ramsar Subregional Meeting for Central and North Africa, Algiers, Algeria, 19-21 March 2002. [18/03/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Monterey, Mexico, 17 to 22 March, for the UN Financing for Development Conference (http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/about_ffd00.htm). [18/03/02]

Carlos Villalba, Technical Officer for COP8, is at Villa Kazouki in Athens, Greece, 11-12 March, for a MedWet Technical Network Meeting with the participation of all the scientific institutions and wetland centres that constitute the network -- the objective is to plan the coordination of the activities undertaken by the Centres both among themselves and with the MedWet Coordination Unit. [12/03/02]

Alain Lambert, Senior Adviser on Environment and Development Cooperation, is in Rio de Janeiro, 12-16 March, to make a presentation at the UNEP Annual Global Roundtable Meeting on Finance and Sustainability. [12/03/02]

Margarita Astrálaga, Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is in Sao Luiz, Brazil, for discussions on 13 March with environment authorities of Maranhao state and meetings with researchers who have received Ramsar grants for projects. From 14 to 17 March she will be visiting Ramsar sites in the area. [13/03/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Paris, France, 11 March for discussions with WWF Europe. [11/03/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Lelystad, The Netherlands, for the annual board meeting of RIZA's International Courses on Wetland Management and Wetland Restoration. [08/03/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then in Metkovic, Croatia, 6-10 March, to attend a workshop on the Ramsar Small Grants Fund project and parallel projects for transboundary management of the lower Neretva floodplain. [06/03/02]

Margarita Astrálaga , Regional Coordinator for the Americas, is in Fortaleza, Brazil, to attend the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank and its workshop on "Strategic Issues in Water Resources Management in Latin America and the Caribbean", and then to visit three Brazilian Ramsar sites in Maranhao with national and provincial authorities. [02/03/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Budapest for the 4th meeting of the ecology experts group of the ICPDR (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River), the Second Conference on Biodiversity in Europe, and the PEBLDS Council meeting. [25/02/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, following the UNEP Governing Council meetings, remains for a few days in Colombia for the Workshop on Mangroves organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). [19/02/02]

Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, is in Montreal, Canada, for a week of discussions with the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity on harmonized national reporting, as well as on the next CBD/Ramsar Joint Work Plan and other collaborative activities on inland waters. [16/02/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is Le Havre, France, 17 to 20 February, for the 7th meeting of the PIANC working group on wetland restoration. [19/02/02]

Carlos Villalba, Technical Officer for COP8, and Spyros Kouvelis, MedWet Coordinator, are in Almada, Lisbon, Portugal, 17 to 23 February, attending the MedWet Inventories Seminar and the MedWet Inventory Working Group Meeting. Spyros is also representing MedWet and the Convention in the inauguration of the Portuguese Wetlands Centre (CEZH - Centro de Zonas Humidas), part of the ICN-Instituto Concservacao da Natureza, which will be working under the direction of Joao Carlos Farinha with four staff members. The new centre will be assisting the MedWet process in matters of wetland inventory. [19/02/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in Colombia to attend the meeting of UNEP's Global Ministerial Environmental Forum that deals with International Environmental Governance. [11/02/02]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Nigeria, 9 to 16 February, to attend the summit of the Heads of State of the Niger Basin Authority (9 countries) in Abuja; hold discussions with the Ramsar Administrative Authority and National Wetland Committee in Nigeria; and visit some proposed Ramsar sites mainly in the Niger Delta area. [11/02/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Dublin, Ireland, for World Wetlands Day activities with Coastwatch Europe, Trinity College Dublin. [02/02/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is in New York to attend part of the 2nd Preparatory Meeting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and then on 31 January travels on to Paris to attend a lunch with the French environmental press on 1 February and participate on 2 February in the inauguration of the first Maison Ramsar (Ramsar House) in the Baie de Somme (Northwest of France) on 2 February, World Wetlands Day. [28/01/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, and Carlos Villalba, Technical Officer for COP8, are in Valencia, Spain, for a meeting of Spain's Ramsar COP8 Steering Committee and visits to a number of local institutions. They are expected back at the end of the week. [23/01/02]

Tobias Salathé, Regional Coordinator for Europe, is in Brussels for the launch of the wetlands strategy of the European Archaeological Council at the European Parliament. [22/01/02]

Nick Davidson , Deputy Secretary General, is in Wageningen, The Netherlands, for discussions with Wetlands International and returns to the Bureau late on 17 January. [16/01/02]

Anada Tiéga, Regional Coordinator for Africa, is in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to attend the ministerial meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, present the site diploma for the new Ramsar site in Chad, discuss implementation of the Convention with Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, and offer counsel on Ramsar accession to Cameroon, with support from the WWF Country Office and the IUCN Regional Office in Yaoundé. [15/01/02]

Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, is attending a meeting of the Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in Kuala Lumpur on 14-16 January. On 17 January he will participate in a workshop with Malaysian Government officials on Multilateral Environmental Agreements and have meetings with the Global Environment Centre (secretariat of the River Basin Initiative). He's expected back in the Bureau in the afternoon of Friday 18 January. [12/01/02]