New publication - Action for culture in Mediterranean Wetlands (11/04/08)

Hello everyone:

First, a correction. I think I suffered a minor brain malfunction when I sent out the last email! I wrote about IBA’s, identifying them as International Bird Areas. The acronym of course stands for Important Bird Areas.

Now for the real message - a news item from Dwight Peck recently posted on our What’s New section on the web site that I’m sure it will be of interest to many of you.

A new publication has just been released by the Mediterranean Institute on Nature and Anthropos/ Med-INA. Presenting a great deal of valuable information on cultural values and wetlands, the publication by Thymio Papayannis and contributors aims to encourage addressing cultural values in the management of wetlands. It presents information on culture-related activities relating to 22 wetland sites in the Mediterranean. Well-illustrated, the book provides up-to-date documentation of characteristic ongoing cultural activities and examines their significance for the management and protection of these sensitive ecosystems. A main conclusion is that nature and culture are two interdependent elements and therefore "we cannot understand and manage the 'natural' environment unless we understand the human culture that shaped it". Thus, the values resulting from cultural activities are important in strengthening the links of people with wetlands, a prerequisite for wetland conservation and for the sustainable use of their resources and services. Among other things, the book informs about the work undertaken in the field of cultural values of wetlands within MedWet and within the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. PDF versions in English and in French are available from http://www.med-ina.org/mava01/04_progress/index.html, and for the print publication, inquiries can be made to Med-INA at afoutri@med-ina.org.

With best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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