Delmar Blasco's address in Brisbane

Welcoming Statement to the Delegates and Observers at the Opening of the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Brisbane, Australia, 19 March 1996

Mr Delmar Blasco, Secretary General of the Convention

Ladies and gentlemen,

Gathered here in this hall are representatives of 121 governments of the world, among them 90 out of the 92 nations that are Contracting Parties to the Convention. In addition, we have with us representatives of important inter-governmental institutions, such as the World Bank and the Council of Ministers of the European Communities. We have also with us the heads of powerful international non-governmental institutions such as IUCN -The World Conservation Union, Wetlands International, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and BirdLife International. More than 100 other international and national NGOs are in attendance as well, including several Organisations of the indigenous Australians.

Collectively, in this hall, there is a tremendous array of political clout, commitment, knowledge, management capacity and field experience that should make this 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties a significant and very productive event.

Before going further, let me pay two very sincere tributes. First to the "founding fathers" of the Convention: those distinguished scientists, practitioners and government officers who in the Sixties had the vision to launch the idea of the Convention, a vision that they materialized on the shores of the Caspian sea, in the Iranian city of Ramsar 25 years ago, on the 2nd of February of the year 1971. They are represented here today by Mr. Eric Carp, Dr. Luc Hoffman and Prof. Geoffrey Matthews. We are proud to have you here with us. I want also to pay tribute to the people who for many years have served the Convention from the secretariat in IUCN and from what until recently was IWRB, including my predecessor in the position of Secretary General, Mr. Dan Navid. The history of the Convention does not highlight the names of any women. As has too often happened in the course of history, women's names have not been registered, but I am sure that many have also played a significant role. I salute them in the female delegates and representatives present here today and express my hope that future meetings of the Conference of the Parties will be more gender balanced.

My second heartily felt tribute goes to the Commonwealth Government of Australia, the Government of Queensland and the City Council of Brisbane, that together with the Australian NGOs and the private sector of this country have made such excellent arrangements for this meeting. In particular, I am very grateful to the dedicated team at the Australia Nature Conservation Agency that have worked so closely with us at the Ramsar Bureau for many months. They have done a tremendous job and have greatly facilitated our own work in Gland, work that as you will be aware has been made possible through generous financial support from Australia.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the Governments and institutions that by making available to the Convention some 600,000 American dollars have facilitated the participation of almost 200 delegates from developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Parties. A fitting occasion to reflect on the achievements of the past, which are many, the difficulties encountered on the way, and, most importantly, the challenges and opportunities lying ahead.

The national reports that we have received from 91 out of the 92 Contracting Parties provide clear indications of a Convention that is making its mark in the effort to conserve natural resources and to manage them wisely. In the case of a good number of countries we can speak of a "well established Convention" that has become well known to the public. I would like to recognize here in particular the scientists and government officers who in many countries are doing a remarkable job from seriously understaffed and underbudgeted agencies. They constitute an example of dedication and commitment that deserves special recognition.

Ramsar has been a pioneering Convention. It was the first treaty to focus on a particular ecosystem, and already in 1971, before Stockholm and 21 years before Rio, included in its text the concept of "wise use", equivalent in its meaning to what today we call "sustainable use".

We need to continue with that pioneering effort and see how the Convention can be further used in the concerted effort to achieve sustainable development worldwide. Today, the challenges of combating poverty, exclusion and deprivation in the world, and at the same time preserving the integrity of the natural resource base, are so great, that we have the obligation to see how each instrument at our disposal can be integrated in the most effective possible way in the quest to secure a viable planet. For if something very serious is not done soon to redress the immense gap that separates the rich from the poor, our planet may collapse. It is not only a question of a moral imperative, it is a question of common sense as well. Environmental and social collapse are two sides of the same coin. And both have the same deep root cause: mal development; either an excess of development in the form of blind patterns of production and consumption, or too little development, in the form of total marginalization of important human groups.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

How can Ramsar, which many will perceive as a very discreet, rather specialized Convention, become an useful instrument in the quest for environmental and socio-economic stability? How can we integrate what we are doing into the wider context of sustainable development, in the understanding that this concept not only implies environmental sustainability, but also economic, social, political and cultural sustainability?

Ramsar has made important contributions in creating a new awareness of the values and functions of wetlands, in establishing a global network of wetlands of international importance, and in defining and applying the concept of wise use, or sustainable use, of wetland resources. The Strategic Plan submitted for your consideration already represents an important step forward since it emphasizes that wetland issues should be seen within the larger context of land use planning, integrated coastal zone management, and national development planning in general.

Now the time has come, in my view, to take the Convention one step further. The Convention recognizes "the fundamental functions of wetlands as regulators of water regimes" and asserts that wetlands can be classified as internationally significant in terms of hydrology, among other criteria. It is this component of the Convention that could allow a much more significant role for the treaty in the future.

Only 3 percent of the world's water is freshwater, and a considerable amount of it is retained in the ice caps and glaciers. Lakes and rivers account for only 0.014 percent of all water, and even less is represented by ground water. And yet all biodiversity on our planet, including our amazing human adventure, depends upon that tiny amount of this essential component of life. Fresh, high quality water is already critically scarce in many places, and looks set to become scarce in many other locations. Water may well be the critical environment and development issue of the 21st century.

Ramsar should be there, ready to help meet this challenge.

The other significant area so far not well developed, and which again could give to the Ramsar Convention a much more significant role, stems from the definition of wetlands adopted by the treaty, that includes "areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters". In these areas of marine water lie some of the most significant and productive, but also most threatened, marine ecosystems: coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds. Ramsar ought to turn its attention to them in a more systematic way, through taking care to work in partnership with on-going efforts, such as the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).

I am very pleased to see that a number of delegations present here today have included, many for the first time, representatives of government agencies that are responsible for these crucial issues that I just made reference to.

Some of these issues will be brought to the Plenary Sessions in the form of short interventions called "Themes for the Future", but there may not be enough time to debate them. The Technical Sessions might be the place where we could go for more in-depth discussion of some of these key questions. I am thinking in particular of Technical Session E on "Criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance", where in addition to discussing the proposed new criteria based on fish and fisheries, a wider discussion could occur about the Ramsar criteria in general. But all the other Technical Sessions on wise use, on ecological character, on cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Bank and GEF, on management planning, and on community participation should give us the opportunity to discuss and analyze how the Ramsar Convention could take a new dynamic lease of life, now that it has reached the beautiful age of 25!

We also have with us here the majority of the scientists and experts who are proposed as members or alternates of the Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP). I would suggest that we "pick their brains" as from today, without awaiting the formal confirmation of their appointment by the Conference.

And why not establish ad-hoc discussion groups if necessary? We have eight days in front of us. We have before us the rare opportunity of having concentrated in one place a wealth of knowledge and experience, including traditional know-how, and individuals who excel in their respective fields. Let's work hard, let's reach the 27th of March with a new vision, a new covenant for the future of the wetlands of our planet!

There is a need also to revitalize the Wetland Conservation Fund to make it a more dynamic mechanism for small strategic investments in the field. We should consider ways and means to do so, including the possible involvement of the corporate sector, both in terms of financial contributions and participation at the field level.

I am extremely pleased that the Executive Officers of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, and the Convention on Migratory Species have joined us in Brisbane. The Bureau is also discussing with the Interim Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Climate Change to identify areas of mutual interest and possible cooperation. We need to make clear proposals for more synergy between the Conventions, not so much at the level of the secretariats but mostly where it really matters: at the policy and implementation level in each Contracting Party.

Finally, let me speak for a moment about money. As you know you have received in the Conference papers three possible alternatives for the budget of the Convention Bureau; and you will be asked to address this mater in your regional meetings first, in order to assist the Conference Committee to prepare a firm recommendation. While I hope that the Bureau will receive as much as governments are able to contribute, so as to allow us to do the best possible job in serving the Convention, I am not for a moment intending to "fight" simply for more money. I will be happy with what countries are prepared to pay, with the understanding that this is the best they can do at this moment. This meeting of the Conference will not go into history because it has agreed to a more or less significant increase of the core budget, but because of the decisions that will have been taken to increase the significance and usefulness of the Convention. We, at the Bureau, will adjust to the financial resources placed at our disposal, and it is my pledge to you that they will be managed with extreme diligence to ensure that money is used in the most efficient and productive way, right down to the last penny. I strongly believe that in a world of scarcity, and with so many million of people being deprived of their basic needs, it is immoral to misuse or waste resources of any kind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I personally, and all the members of the Ramsar Bureau, are here to work with you hand in hand for the goals that we all share. Thank you Australia for hosting us so warmly; thank you all for being here. I repeat: there is an immense wealth of knowledge, talent and good will in this assembly hall. I am certain that on Wednesday the 27th of March, together with the sort of nostalgia always felt when a positive experience comes to an end, we will all be convinced that it was worth undertaking the long journey to Brisbane.

Thank you.

For further information, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 10 April 1996, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.