News hot off (well, almost hot off), the Ramsar web site….

New Senior Regional Advisor for the Asia / Oceania region. The Secretariat is delighted to announce that Dr Llewellyn (Lew) Young has been selected as Senior Regional Advisor for Asia/Oceania. Hong Kong-born Chinese holding British citizenship, Lew is already well known to many people involved in the practical issues of wetland conservation and wise use in the region. He has been Manager of the WWF Hong Kong Mai Po Nature Reserve since 1991, and was actively involved in the listing of the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar site in 1995. Since then he has worked closely with the Hong Kong government to develop the management plan and monitoring programme for the Site.

Lew has considerable experience in CEPA issues through his work at the Mai Po Marshes Wildlife Education Centre (with approximately 40,000 visitors annually) and his involvement in the establishment of Wetland Link International-Asia in 2005, a network that has been promoting greater communication and cooperation between wetland centres across Asia. Lew holds a MSc degree in Ecology from Aberdeen University in Scotland and a Ph.D from Hong Kong University, Department of Zoology. The Secretariat is looking forward to welcoming Lew in mid-June