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Conclusions of the Mediterrean Wetlands Committee 3, April 2000

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Third meeting of the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee
Djerba, Tunisia, 1 - 5 April 2000

Doc. MW/C3.7

Conclusions

The Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedWet/Com)
meeting for the third time, in the island of Djerba, Tunisia, on 1-5 April 2000,

1. and consisting of officially designated representatives from 23 countries (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yugoslavia), the European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme - Coordinating Unit for the Mediterranean Action Plan (Barcelona Convention, RAC-SPA), the Ramsar Bureau, the United Nations Development Programme and the following seven organizations working on wetland-related issues in the Mediterranean: BirdLife International, Greek Biotope / Wetland Centre, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, the Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat, Sede para el Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos of the University of Valencia - SEHUMED, Wetlands International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature - WWF, with the participation of observers from Tunisian central and regional services, the Agence pour la Protection et l’Aménagement du Littoral - APAL (Tunisia), the Conservatoire du Littoral (France), and Tunisian non-governmental organizations:

2. NOTES the increasing interest of the Mediterranean countries, and many inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and wetland centres in the MedWet Initiative, as demonstrated by the participation of more than 100 delegates in this Third Meeting of MedWet/Com in Djerba, and regrets that the Syrian Arab Republic, the FYR of Macedonia, and the Palestinian National Authority could not participate at the last moment due to unforeseen difficulties and that the Bern Convention (Council of Europe) was unable to attend;

3. WELCOMES the United Nations Development Programme as new member of MedWet/Com;

4. WELCOMES the continued active participation of the European Commission and requests the MedWet Coordinator and the Ramsar Secretary General to strengthen the collaboration with the Commission with a view to further using the available EC instruments for conservation and sustainable use of Mediterranean wetlands (in particular Short and Medium-Term Priority Environmental Action Programme (SMAP), LIFE-Nature, LIFE-Third Countries);

5. RECALLS with satisfaction Resolution VII.22 of the 7th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (San José, Costa Rica, May 1999), by which the MedWet Initiative was officially approved as an integral part of the Convention and as a global model for its implementation on a transregional basis; and

6. EXPRESSES its deep gratitude to the Government of Tunisia - and especially the General Directorate of Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture - for hosting the MedWet/Com3 meeting, as well as to the Tunisian regional and local authorities for their hospitality, and expresses its gratitude to the governments of France, Portugal and Spain for their contributions to assisting the participation of delegates from developing countries in the region.

The Mediterranean Wetlands Committee, after studying the working documents provided by the MedWet Team, and debating the issues in plenary sessions and workshops:

7. EXPRESSES its appreciation of the work carried out within the MedWet Initiative since February 1999 presented in detail by the report of the MedWet Team (‘From Valencia to Djerba’), and notes the intention of the three wetland centres in the Team together with the other MedWet focal points to reinforce their collaboration and to develop specific joint projects;

8. NOTES with satisfaction the continuing willingness of the governments of France, Greece and Spain to provide administrative and technical support to the MedWet Initiative through the Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat, the Greek Wetland / Biotope Centre and SEHUMED, which are members of the MedWet Team, as well as the generous proposal of the government of Spain to host the MedWet Coordination in Malaga, in conjunction with the Mediterranean office of IUCN, and to cover 60% of its operational expenses of about 200,000 Euros per annum;

9. EXPRESSES its satisfaction with the progress made in the development of the MedWet inventory tools, and especially the MedWet Database 2000, led by the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza (ICN), Portugal, in its capacity as MedWet focal point for inventory;

10. COMMENDS Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia for their submission of proposals to the Ramsar Bureau for hosting a new wetland centre in North Africa, and URGES a rapid assessment and decision by the Ramsar Bureau in the hope that this centre will soon become operational and will contribute effectively to wetland conservation and wise use in the Mediterranean;

11. NOTES with great satisfaction the launching of the MedWetCoast project, and considers that this project will assist in the dissemination of the MedWet tools and other guidelines related to wetland conservation within the framework of the Ramsar Convention and other international treaties, and notes also that this project will endeavour to assist in the development of MedWet tools, ensure strong cooperation with all MedWet partners, and place wetland conservation within the wider context of integrated coastal zone management;

12. NOTES with appreciation the transborder collaboration initiatives for the Prespa Lakes between Albania, Greece and the FYR of Macedonia, and the Neretva river wetlands between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia, REQUESTS the Ramsar Bureau and the MedWet Team to assist as much as possible with these initiatives, and ENCOURAGES further similar efforts;

13. WELCOMES the pilot twinning initiatives between the Ramsar sites of the Petite Camargue, France, and Merja Zerga, Morocco, that favour the development of cultural exchanges and sharing of experiences between local Mediterranean site actors, and ENCOURAGES other twinning initiatives between Mediterranean sites; and

14. WELCOMES the commitment of Algeria to designate by the end of the year 2000, in the context of its partnership with the Living Waters Campaign of WWF International, ten new Ramsar Sites covering a total area of at least 500,000 hectares.

Concerning the implementation of the Mediterranean Wetlands Strategy, the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee:

15. URGES MedWet/Com member states that have not yet acceded to the Convention on Wetlands to complete the necessary procedures as soon as possible, as an important preparatory step for the implementation of the Mediterranean Wet-lands Strategy;

16. PROPOSES that the Mediterranean Wetlands Strategy may converge with the Ramsar Strategic Plan by the incorporation, possibly in an annex, of the future Mediterranean Wetland Strategy 2003-2008 in the new Ramsar Strategic Plan 2003-2008, which should take fully into account Mediterranean specificities. MedWet/Com 4 should examine the new draft Ramsar Strategic Plan, prepared with the contribution of the MedWet Team, and make recommendations, as appropriate;

17. RECOGNIZES the priority for national wetland policies, REQUESTS the states that have already prepared them to share their experience with the states that wish to be engaged in this process, with the assistance of the MedWet Coordinator and the Ramsar Regional Coordinators, and further RECOMMENDS that the MedWet tools and the Ramsar COP7 Guidelines for developing and implementing National Wetland Policies (Resolution VII.6) be used in their preparation;

18. URGES Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention and members of MedWet/Com to invite NGOs to participate in their National Ramsar Committees as indicated in the Annex to Resolution VII.6 of Ramsar COP7;

19. REAFFIRMS the priority to be given to communications and public awareness, REQUESTS that all Contracting Parties implement Resolution VII.9 of Ramsar COP7 (The Convention’s Outreach Programme, 1999-2002) in designating their governmental and non-governmental focal points, and the MedWet Team to identify a focal institution for communication and public awareness actions within the MedWet Initiative, and that a special effort should be made concerning the media;

20. ACCEPTS with satisfaction the proposal of IUCN - The World Conservation Union to launch a project on the preparation of guidelines for the integrated management of hydrological basins, and recommends that the guidelines adopted by Ramsar COP7 on this subject (Resolution VII.18, Guidelines for integrating wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management) be fully taken into account.

21. URGES training to be an important component of all MedWet projects;

22. PROPOSES that the selection of priority projects for development be made using the following criteria:

a) Multinational and cross-sectoral projects that strengthen the MedWet network (such as methodological tools, communications and public awareness tools, establishment of the North African Wetland Centre, etc.), or

b) Projects that allow the best use of wetland resources and projects in a framework of sustainability, or

c) Original projects that include and organize local actors towards integrated development and aim at the improvement of the legal and institutional framework, using the guidelines adopted by Ramsar COP7 on this subject (Resolution VII.7, Guidelines for reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands), or

d) International collaboration projects that generate rules and agreements, which can be duplicated;

23. UNDERLINES the priority character of the collaborations established with UNDP, the Barcelona Convention (MAP coordinating unit, RAC-SPA, as well as other pertinent regional activity centres), the European Commission, the Conservatoire du Littoral, the Agence Tunisienne pour la Protection et l’Aménagement du Littoral, BirdLife International, IUCN, Wetlands International and WWF;

24. WELCOMES the existing collaboration with various funding agencies such as the European Commission, GEF, FFEM, and other bilateral donors, and RECOMMENDS sharing this experience of resource mobilisation with the MedWet partners and building new collaborations with other funding sources;

25. ENCOURAGES the development of further partnerships with institutions involved with the management of water resources, especially MedTAC and the VERSeau association, as well as with private sector foundations (such as the Fundació Territori i Paisatge - Caixa Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain);

26. NOTES that the issue of climate change, its repercussions on wetlands, and the role of wetlands in mitigating its impact are not well taken into account in the Mediterranean and requests the MedWet Team to identify competent partners for initiating actions in this area, in coordination with the actions undertaken by the Ramsar Bureau;

27. ENCOURAGES the establishment of active networks of:

a) national non-governmental organizations involved in wetland conservation;

b) sites that benefit from the use of MedWet tools, with the quality of their management potentially recognized by a "MedWet label"; and

c) subnational authorities involved in wetland management;

28. RECOGNIZES the crucial role that has been played by the MedWet coordination and the need to ensure its continuation, and

a) UNDERLINES the urgency for assuring the financing of the MedWet Coordinator, which has been missing since 1 January 2000, and

b) RECOMMENDS that the Ramsar Bureau:

29. RECOGNIZES the critical situation of the long-term and severe drought in the eastern Mediterranean, which underlines the importance of initiating special programmes to protect the wetlands of this subregion; and

30. URGES governments and other members of MedWet/Com to consider secondments to the MedWet Team.

Finally, the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee,

31. COMMENDS the efforts of the Government of Tunisia in managing wisely its wetland resources; and

32. ACCEPTS with pleasure the offer of the Government of Portugal to host the Fourth Meeting of the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedWet/Com4) in the third week of June 2001.

For further information about MedWet or the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 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 ). Posted 10 April 2000, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.

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