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Lake Chad Basin Commission 49th ministerial meeting -- Photos

Ramsar's Anada Tiéga and WWF's Denis Landenbergue participated in the 49th ministerial meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, which in its closing session, 15 January 2002, adopted a recommendation on the continuing progress of the LCBC states towards Ramsar accession and designation of their portions of the basin for the Ramsar List. (The recommendation is available here in English and French.)

With assistance from WWF's Living Waters Programme, the five states of the LCBC (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria) are designating their parts of the system as Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance, preparatory to a GEF project for developing a management plan for the basin as a whole. Chad and Niger have already designated their Ramsar sites, Nigeria is in progress, and Cameroon and the C.A.R. are preparing their accessions to the Convention.

Anada Tiéga and Denis Landenbergue networking with the agricultural minister of Chad . . .

and preparing their speeches.

Called to the podium, Mr Tiéga carries Ramsar site diplomas for presentation.

Anada Tiéga of Ramsar addressing the meeting.

And Denis Landenbergue, of WWF's Living Waters Programme.

Mr Tiéga presents the minister from Niger with the Ramsar site diploma for Niger's portion of Lake Chad, designated a Wetland of International Importance on 17 June 2001. He also presented the minister of Chad with his diploma for Chad's portion, designated on 11 January 2002.

Niger's minister proudly displays his country's Ramsar site diploma.

Throughout the duration of the project, the Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission also receives a duplicate of each of the Ramsar site diplomas for display in the LCBC offices.

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 29 January 2002, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.