Daft Resolutions of the Ramsar Convention

Daft Resolution 10.000,001 (Rev. 99,999,999)

The 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, San José, Costa Rica: 10-18 May 1999

[Note: It has become a tradition that, near the close of each Ramsar COP, a "daft resolution" is circulated throughout the hall and corridors. Legends have sprung up around attempts to identify their authors. ]

Sponsored by current and ex-interns present at COP7 and with the spiritual support of the ex-interns who were not able to attend

1.     AWARE of the commitment of Interns to environmental conservation, and especially to wetland conservation and the Convention;

2.     GRATEFUL for the friendly atmosphere at the Bureau and within the Convention as a whole;

3.     NOTING the contribution of former staff of the Bureau in making the Convention and the Bureau what it is, and especially Mike Smart, Clarita Martinet-Fay, and Maria del Mar Rodriguez;

4.     DEEPLY REGRETTING the absence at COP7 of Julia Tucker, the Administrator, and her laughter, as well as the absence of Robin Reilley, volunteer researcher;

5.     RECOGNIZING the efforts of Interns in assisting their respective Regional Coordinators with technical and administrative work, and especially with the preparation of regional and COP meetings;

6.     RECALLING that the Internship Programme is a tremendous professional development opportunity for recent graduates of environmental and related fields of study;

7.     CONSCIOUS of the need to ensure that the work of interns continues to be of high quality and efficiency;

8.     EXPRESSING SATISFACTION with aperos convened in Gland, in the office of the Secretary General, Delmar Blasco, in his absence and in his presence;

9.     ALSO WELCOMING the Bureau tradition of round table displays and consumption of a variety of solid and liquid nutrients, including Julia Tucker’s last drinks of the month; and

10.     FOLLOWING the path set by the interpreters’ COP daft resolutions;

THE CONFERENCE OF INTERNS

11.     COMMENDS the commitment of all Bureau staff to wetland conservation and their hard work towards this goal;

12.     THANKS the Bureau, and especially the Regional Coordinators with whom Interns have worked closely, Montserrat Carbonell, Rebecca D’Cruz, Tim Jones, Tom Kabii and Anada Tiéga, as well as the Fleeting Coordinator, Nestor Windevoxhel, for providing opportunities for interns to participate in a variety of the Convention’s activities, including contributing to COP7;

13.     FURTHER THANKS the Bureau for bringing two previous Interns back to work with the Convention during COP7 and RESPECTFULLY ENCOURAGES the availability of similar opportunities in the future;

14.     ALSO THANKS Costa Rican organizers, helpers, photocopy and hotel staff for their friendly and efficient support during COP7, and especially their motherly care for sickly Bureau staff;

15.    RECOMMENDS that no one falls asleep on the bus going to Moravia;

16.     INVITES the Bureau to maintain a World Wide Web page for present and past interns, including the List of Interns of International Importance;

17.     CALLS UPON the Bureau to further reduce, reuse and recycle paper;

18.     FORMALLY PROMOTES Annette Keller Pavlic to Guru status, Montserrat Riera to the title of Great Manitou and Valerie Pearson Higgins to the Honourable Post of Chief Assistant, and DIRECTS that they be venerated accordingly, including by being greeted with deference and regularly given offerings;

19.     INTRUCTS the Finance Officer, Paulette Kennedy, to identify antique and other second-hand opportunities for Interns in Costa Rica;

20.     SENDS the Executive Assistant to the Secretary General, Mireille Katz, on a mission in the wetlands of Costa Rica to find medicinal plants to cure Bureau staff; and INSTRUCTS her to design a Ramsar Intern Award that graphically embodies the concepts of internship, convention, cooperation, coordination, wetland conservation, wise use, ecosystem approach, water use, COP7, and the inter-relationships among these concepts;

21.     REQUESTS that Sandra Hails, Consultant Database Expert, lives up to the hilarious experiences she has offered to Interns;

22.    DEMANDS further architectural advice from Thymio Papayannis, MedWet Coordinator, on the designing of document piles and meeting announcements;

23.    FURTHER DEMANDS that the staff hotel for the next COP7 be a five star hotel instead of a mere four star hotel;

24.    REQUESTS that interns contributing to future COPs and other meetings always be provided with jacuzzis in their bedrooms;

25.    CALLS UPON the Bureau to ban air conditioning from all further COPs and other meetings, and instead ENCOURAGES open air meetings, especially in Ramsar sites, in support of the natural environment and EPA;

26.    URGES the Bureau to recognize languages spoken by all past, current and future interns as main working languages of the Bureau, including Bemba, Bengali, Chinese, Dutch, Hindi, Hungarian, Malenke, Persian, Urdu;

27. CREATES parallel Convention structures:

28.    URGES the Ramsar Bureau to devote 50% of its budget to the Big Intern Fund (BIF);

29.    ANNOUNCES the adoption of a Joint Working Plan between the Intern Bureau and the Ramsar Bureau;

30.    WISHES the Bureau, and especially Dwight Peck and Montserrat Riera, good luck with the production and mailing of the Proceedings to COP7;

31.     INVITES the use of the offices of the Secretary General, Delmar Blasco, and Deputy Secretary General, Bill Phillips, at the Herradura Hotel, for a Ramsar Wine and Fondue/Raclette Gathering;

32.    SEEKS further Sushi, Eel and Sake suppers with translators;

33.     ORDERS all Bureau staff to go to sleep NOW!!!!!!!!!!!; and last but not least

34.     DEEPLY APPRECIATES the moral and logistical support of the Executive Assistant for Communications, Dwight Peck, in the production of this Resolution.

For further information, 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 ). Orated profoundly by the Ramsar interns and former interns present at the post-COP7 staff party in the Herradura Hotel, 18 May 1999, and posted on this site 7 June 1999 nevertheless.