Resolutions of the Montreux Conference

Resolution 4.3 on the Wetland Conservation Fund

4th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
Montreux, Switzerland
27 June-4 July 1990

Resolution 4.3: A Wetland Conservation Fund

Note: By decision of the Contracting Parties in 1996 (Resolution VI.6), the Wetland Conservation Fund was renamed the Ramsar Small Grants Fund (SGF).

RECOGNISING that measures necessary to assure the conservation and wise use of wetlands may often require resources beyond those available to developing countries;

THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

DECIDES to establish a Wetland Conservation Fund (the Fund), which shall operate according to the following principles:

(a) the Fund shall be administered by the Bureau under the supervision of the Standing Committee, pursuant to the Terms of Reference for the Financial Administration of the Convention;

(b) the Fund shall include such revenues as may be allocated in the budget approved by the Contracting Parties, and any additional revenues received as voluntary contributions;

(c) the Fund shall be used only to provide assistance to developing countries, upon official request from a competent national authority, for activities in furtherance of the purposes of the Convention;

(d) all applications for allocations from the Fund shall be reviewed and decided by the Standing Committee, under such procedures as it may prescribe;

(e) any developing country that is a Contracting Party may apply for an allocation from the Fund to support wetland conservation activities, including:

i) activities that will improve management of listed sites, such as inventories, monitoring, investigation of threats, preparation of management plans, training of site managers, and public education programmes;

ii) activities required for the designation of sites, such as surveys, boundary delineation, evaluation of hydrological factors, and identification of threats; and

iii) activities that will promote "wise use" of wetlands, such as providing seed money for preparation of proposals to be submitted to development assistance agencies and multilateral development banks; and

(f) any developing country that is seeking to accede to the Convention may apply for a grant from the Fund to support activities necessary for the identification, delineation, and mapping of a site to be included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance.

For further information on the Ramsar Convention or the Montreux Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, 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 19 February 1997, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.