Ramsar at CSD-13, April 2005
CSD side event on ecosystems and water
The thirteenth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-13) is taking place from 11 to 22 April 2005 at the UN headquarters in New York, USA. The discussions are focusing on "policies and options to expedite implementation of commitments in the areas of water, sanitation and human settlements, as contained in Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Millennium Declaration".
The Ramsar Convention is present at CSD-13, and the theme of this year's meeting, "Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements", makes Ramsar's participation particularly relevant to the debates. In addition to the official discussions, Ramsar is also involved in several side events and Learning Center sessions.
Can ecosystems help to save the world's water?
The
first of these was held yesterday, in collaboration with the Swiss Confederation
and the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes. In an event moderated by Sibylle
Vermont (right) from the Swiss Agency for the Environment,
Forests and Landscape, Dr. Heather MacKay,
Research Manager and Head of Water and the Environment, Water Research
Commission of South Africa, and Vice-Chair of Ramsar's Scientific and
Technical Review Panel (STRP), presented the Convention's framework on
water resource management, while Reiner Enderlein,
Secretary of the UNECE Convention, introduced the concept of "nature
for water". Both presentations were targeted to demonstrate the importance
of ecosystems in enabling water resource management, answering the event's
title question: "Can ecosystems help to save the world's water?".
The presentations were followed by an extensive debate, mainly focused on Ramsar and the role of the Convention in different aspects of water management. About 70 persons attended the event.
Ramsar will next
be involved in a training session at CSD13 Learning Center, on Monday
18th, in collaboration with RIZA and the Institute for Water Education
(UNESCO-IHE) and with the participation of the Ramsar Training Center
for the Americas.
Heather MacKay
Reiner Enderlein
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 14 April 2005.
