The 5th meeting of the MedWet Committee, June 2003

The 5th meeting of the Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedWet/Com5) recently took place in Izmir, Turkey, 12 to 15 June 2003, at the kind invitation of the Turkish Government. Following on from the 4th meeting, held in Sesimbra, Portugal, in 2001, the present meeting covered the range of achievements and new challenges and orientations of the MedWet Initiative in the recent past and into the future. Ramsar Secretary General Delmar Blasco opened the meeting on behalf of Ramsar, and the soon-to-be Secretary General Dr Peter Bridgewater participated with the Ramsar Bureau team, along with Nick Davidson, the Deputy Secretary General, three of our Regional Coordinators, and Carlos Villalba, all contributing actively, including as chairpersons and rapporteur.

In addition to plenary sessions, a technical session was held on "Water use, agriculture and the integrated basin-scale management of wetlands". In addition, the Government of Izmir offered participants a cultural event at the Archaeological Museum of Izmir, and on Saturday the 14th there was a half-day field trip to the Gediz Delta Ramsar site near Izmir. At the closing of the meeting, MedWet offered a gift to Secretary General Blasco, who will be leaving his post soon, and he in turn wished a continuous success to the MedWet initiative. The hospitality of the host country was acclaimed by all of the participants, and the preparations and organization by the MedWet Coordination Unit team was timely and efficient.

The conclusions of the meeting and of the technical session will be available on the Ramsar and MedWet Web sites soon, and in the meantime here are some photographs of the meetings, cultural events, and Gediz excursion.

Ramsar Secretary General opening the MedWet/Com5 meeting, 12 June 2003

Minister Osman Pepe welcoming the participants

The participants mostly all smiles

The MedWet/Com5 plenary session

The MedWet Coordinator, Spyros Kouvelis (left), and Ramsar Secretary General, Delmar Blasco

MedWet Coordinator Spyros Kouvelis (left) and MedWet Special Adviser Thymio Papayannis

Delegates and the press

Some of the Ramsar team (left) and Tobias Salathé.

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Cultural evening provided by the Government of Izmir

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Barbecue in the evening

Secretary General Delmar Blasco making closing remarks whilst wearing his going-away present

Photos of the excursion to the Gediz Delta Ramsar site.