Recommendations of the Groningen Conference

Recommendation 2.6 on Sahel wetlands

2nd Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
Groningen, the Netherlands
7-12 May 1984

Recommendation 2.6: Conservation and management of Sahel wetlands

INFORMED of the catastrophic drought currently prevailing throughout the Sahel and of the severe degradation of natural habitats which it has provoked;

RECOGNIZING that, despite the best efforts of Governments of Sahel states, external assistance in conservation matters will be decisive in enabling them to fulfil obligations accepted under the Convention;

INFORMED of recent scientific work which emphasizes the importance of Sahel wetlands for Afrotropical birds and - even in years of extreme drought - for Palearctic migrants;

WELCOMING the active participation in the present Conference by delegates and observers from a number of Sahel states (which has contributed to focus attention on Sahel wetlands), and looking forward to adhesion to the Convention by further states of the region;

THE SECOND CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

RECOMMENDS that national bodies from the developed countries and international bodies, working under the aegis of CILSS, should cooperate with one another and with states of the region to establish a plan to conserve and manage Sahel wetlands.

For more information about the Recommendations of the Groningen COP or the Ramsar Convention itself, 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 2 March 1997, updated 11 March 2000, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.