People and wetlands -- the vital link
[This a reprint of an interview article with Delmar Blasco, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, with World Birdwatch, the magazine of BirdLife International, edited by Kathleen Rosewarne, vol. 19, no. 3, September 1997, reprinted with permission (I hope). -- Web Editor.]
People and Wetlands: the Vital Link
| This is the theme adopted for the next meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), to be
held in Costa Rica 10-18 May 1999. Does this mean that Ramsar is no longer
a treaty that is concerned mostly with waterhirds and that the emphasis
has shifted to people? Yes and no.
Yes, Ramsar is no longer concerned mostly with waterbirds, despite the fact that the name of the convention continues to be Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. The Convention has moved a long way towards a holistic approach to wetland issues in several ways. It has become increasingly concerned with all components of the biodiversity of wetland habitats, some of which, such as wetland fish species, are vital to the communities that depend on them for their food security, and for commercial fisheries that have their natural nursery grounds in coastal wetlands. |
It has looked at wetlands within the context of the fresh
or marine aquatic systems that they belong to, with the understanding that
each component of a system depends on the good functioning of all the other
components. It has actively integrated the human equation into the question
of wetland conservation: in most cases people are the cause of wetland
deterioration and loss -- often unwillingly or unconsciously, sometimes
by acting irresponsibly out of shortsighted self-interest. But through
informed and democratic involvement, people can also be the source of enlightened
positive action for wetland conservation and wise use.
I am persuaded that by moving towards this holistic approach, which includes all the necessary aspects of the natural sciences (from biology, through hydrology and limnology to geography, just to cite a few) and all the necessary components of the social sciences (from economics, to social psychology and anthropology, to education, to sociology), the Convention will have a |
much greater chance of ensuring the long-term protection
of waterfowl, the group of species that were singled out in the title and
in the text of the treaty as being of particular concern. I always welcome
the interaction with the Birdlife family and have tremendous sympathy for
its concerns and admiration for the tenacity and effectiveness of its action.
By combining forces with the many other families that are also concerned
with wetland issues from other motivations and with other expectations,
we can reach a wider consensus that can put us all in a win-win situation.
I invite you to start planning for Costa Rica, keeping in mind one central
preoccupation: how to involve people -- from the leaders of society to
the man and woman in the street -- in a positive way, for the benefit of
our shared concerns.
Delmar Blasco is Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Iran, 1971), Gland, Switzerland. |
For
further information, please contact the Ramsar
Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel
+41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@hq.iucn.org). Posted 15
October 1997, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.
