Resolutions of the San José Conference

Resolution VII.29: Thanks to the host country

"People and Wetlands: The Vital Link"
7^th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971),
San José, Costa Rica, 10-18 May 1999

1. HAVING MET for the first time in a developing country and in the Neotropical region;

2. FULLY AWARE of the significant effort required for the organization of a meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, with, on this occasion, more than 1000 participants from 111 Contracting Parties and 14 observer States;

3. NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that special arrangements and dispensations were made by the Costa Rican authorities to grant visas upon arrival to a large number of participants in order to facilitate their attendance; and

4. HAVING received detailed information on the efforts of Costa Rica to implement the Convention in the most effective manner within its well-developed policy and practices in the area of conservation and sustainable natural resources management;

THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES

5. CONGRATULATES Costa Rica for its pioneering efforts in nature conservation and sustainable natural resources management;

6. EXPRESSES its most sincere gratitude to the Government of Costa Rica, and in particular to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, for the arrangements made to provide excellent facilities for the work of the Conference of the Contracting Parties;

7. FURTHER EXPRESSES its sincere thanks to the non-governmental organizations and the private sector of Costa Rica that have supported the organization of the meeting, to the more than 100 members of local staff who in various capacities contributed to the success of the Ramsar COP7, and to the people of Costa Rica in general for the warm hospitality afforded to all participants; and

8. ALSO EXPRESSES its appreciation to the other Contracting Parties, NGOs and private sector companies from outside Costa Rica that provided assistance to the host country and to the Ramsar Bureau for the organization of Ramsar COP7.

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 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 ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted 5 July 1999, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.