The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

"Biosphere Connections"

The Biosphere Connections partnership with the Star Alliance Network

The Star Alliance Network has established a partnership agreement - Biosphere Connections – with a group of international organisations promoting environmental sustainability:
Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971)
UNESCO Man & Biosphere Programme (MAB)
World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Biosphere Connections aims to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources.

The initiative teams the Star Alliance network of airlines with the the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Biosphere Connections will use the communications activities of the four partners - including Web sites, publications, events, and in-flight entertainment systems, and will also provide the airline connections of the Star Alliance to help connect the people and places of IUCN, MAB and Ramsar in their daily work.

The overall purpose is to contribute to the promotion and conservation of biodiversity, and the sustainable use of natural resources in all the countries and regions that Star Alliance member airlines operate, by connecting the networks offered by all the constituent partner organisations.

The partners for this initiative:

UNESCO Man & Biosphere Programme

Global network of internationally recognised ecosystems designated as biosphere reserves, currently numbering 507 sites in 102 countries. Reserves exist in all countries served by Star Alliance airlines, and in many they include World Heritage Sites and Ramsar Wetlands.

The World Conservation Union – IUCN

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) brings together governments, more than 800 NGOS, and 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. Created in 1948 and supported by 1,000 staff in more than 60 countries, IUCN is the world’s largest environmental network for dialogue,
science and action on sustainable development.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are more than 155 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1675 wetland sites, totaling 150 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

The Star Alliance Network

The Star Alliance Network shares the long-term goals of the partner organisations - to seek conservation of biodiversity and natural resources in biosphere reserves, world heritage sites, wetlands and the sustainable development of human communities and the ecosystems they depend on. The Star Alliance Network wishes to support these internationally recognised organisations, and carriers’ efforts to improve environmental management, demonstrate commitment to the long-term health and well-being of society and the planet.
Less than two years after the alliance was founded in 1997, on 3 May 1999, the then member carriers signed an Environmental Commitment Statement outlining six principles that would “challenge us to reduce our impact on the environment and maintain a healthy balance between progress and environmental sustainability.”

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 28 August 2007, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.