The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

36th Meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee

CONVENTION ON WETLANDS (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) 36th Meeting of the Standing Committee Gland, Switzerland, 25-29 February 2008

Agenda item 12.1

DOC. SC36-8

Overview of STRP products for COP10

Action requested: The Standing Committee is invited to note the anticipated draft scientific and technical COP10 Resolutions and guidance which it is anticipated they will receive for discussion and approval at the 37th meeting of the Committee.

Note by the Ramsar Secretariat

1. An overview of the progress of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) this triennium on each of its 2006-2008 work plan tasks is provided by the STRP Chair in her report to this 36th meeting of the Standing Committee (DOC. SC36-3).

2. This note provides a summary list (Annex 1) of the draft Resolutions (DRs) and scientific and technical guidance being prepared by the STRP under its current work plan that are anticipated to be brought forwards to the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee for its approval for the consideration of COP10. The list includes proposals for draft Resolutions developed during the STRP's recent intersessional workshops (Changwon, Republic of Korea, 11-13 November 2007) concerning wetlands, human health and related topics.

3. The STRP will be further reviewing and developing these materials during its 14th meeting in late January (STRP14), but owing to the timing of that meeting it is not possible to submit the STRP's draft materials for SC36 consideration and approval. At SC36 the STRP Chair will provide a verbal update on this further progress on COP10 scientific and technical materials.

4. Documents SC36-9 to SC36-13 provide further briefing to the Standing Committee on the background and current progress for certain of these anticipated draft Resolutions and guidances.

5. In addition to the COP10 draft Resolutions and guidance, which will be submitted to COP10 for adoption following SC37 approval, it is anticipated that the Panel will also prepare a number of supporting COP10 Information Papers to provide background information and rationales for aspects of the scientific and technical draft Resolutions and guidance documents. A list of such anticipated scientific and technical COP10 Information Papers is provided in Annex 2.

6. A list of the more detailed, supplementary scientific and technical reports currently in preparation by the STRP, which will be published as Ramsar Technical Reports as they become finalized, is provided in Annex 3. It is anticipated that a number of these will have been published during 2008, prior to the COP. As supplementary material, these do not need to be formally adopted by the COP

7. In the Annexes below, STRP 2006-2008 task numbers are indicated in square brackets […]. Documents listed as "Possible" are those whose topics require further consideration by STRP14 as to whether (and in what form) they will be brought to SC37 and COP10.

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Annex 1

Anticipated draft COP10 scientific and technical Resolutions and guidance

A. Draft COP10 Resolutions

• "Additional scientific and technical guidance for implementing the Ramsar wise use concept"
  Note. As for COP9 (Resolution IX.1), it is anticipated that this will be a short draft Resolution covering adoption of the various guidance documents listed in section B below, with all of these guidances provided as annexes to the draft Resolution.

• "Future implementation of scientific and technical aspects of the Convention"
  Note. As for COP9 (Resolution IX.2), this will provide the STRP work plan 2009-2011 tasks and proposed priorities.

• "Wetlands and human health" [task 163] (see also DOC. SC36-9)

• "Wetlands and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza" [task 62] (see also DOC. SC36-9)

• "Wetlands and agriculture" [task 150] (see also DOC. SC36-11)

• "Wetlands and climate change" [new task] (see also DOC. SC36-12)

• "Global waterbird flyways"

• Wetlands and extractive industries [new task] (see also DOC. SC36-13)
• The application of response options from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) within the Ramsar Wise Use Toolkit [task 13]
• Ensuring better future utility and availability of Ramsar's scientific and technical guidance [task 3]
• "Revisions to the modus operandi of the STRP" [STRP on-going review task]
• "The conservation and management of urban wetlands"

• Harmonized guidance on describing wetland ecological character and data needs and formats for core inventory, ecological character, and the Information Sheet on Ramsar wetlands [task 52]
• A framework and guidance for detecting, reporting and responding to change in ecological character [task 54]
• Guidance for the implementation and reporting of indicators of effectiveness of the implementation of the Convention [task 59]
• Guidance for the delineation and mapping of wetlands [task 53]
• Responding to future HPAI risk scenarios for wetlands and waterbirds [task 62]
• Consolidated guidelines for wetlands and river basin management [tasks 81/82/83]

• Supplementary guidance on the application of biogeographic regionalization schemes for Ramsar site designation (for inclusion in the Strategic Framework for Ramsar site designation) [task 105]

• Rationale for describing wetland ecological character and its harmonization with core inventory and the RIS for Ramsar site designation [task 52]
• Data and information needs and management for Ramsar sites and other wetlands [task 52]
• Issues and options concerning detecting, reporting and responding to change in ecological character [task 54]
• The global use of terminologies concerning ecosystem services [task 15]
• The relevance of response options in the Millennium Ecosystem assessment for the implementation of the Ramsar Convention [task 13]
• Progress in developing a framework and guidelines for wetlands and agriculture - the work of the GAWI partnership [task 150]
• Review of utility of COP scientific and technical Resolutions and guidelines, and their availability [task 3]

• Examples of effectiveness indicator assessments [task 59]
• Update on the global situation concerning HPAI [task 62]
• Issues arising from the effectiveness of the application of fish Criteria 7 and 8 for Ramsar site designation [task 112]
• Needs for restructuring the Strategic framework and guidelines for Ramsar site designation [task 112]
• Environmental flows and water law [task 87] (may be issued as a Ramsar Technical Report, depending upon STRP14's view)

• Population estimates and 1% thresholds for the application of Criterion 9 for Ramsar site designation [task109]
• Biogeographic regionalisation, and the distribution and gaps in Ramsar site designations for wetland types [tasks 104/105]
• River basin management critical path application case studies [tasks 81/82/83]
• Wetlands and water quality [task 91]
• Environmental flow determination and implementation [task 89]
• Determination of environmental water requirements for estuaries, coastal and near-shore wetlands [carry-over from 2003-2005]
• Determination of environmental water requirements for rivers [carry-over from 2003-2005]
• An assessment of wetlands and agriculture interactions[task 150] (joint publication with IWMI)
• Wetlands and human health [task 163]
• The current status of wetland wise use for the wetlands covered by case studies in the original Towards the wise use of wetlands Ramsar publication (1993) [task 14]
• Methods for the vulnerability assessment of wetlands [carry-over from 2003-2005]
• Wetlands, water, biodiversity and climate change [new task] (joint publication with CBD Secretariat)

• Environmental flows and water law [task 87] (may be issued as a COP10 Information Paper, depending upon STRP14's view)

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 8 January 2008, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.