The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Ramsar 'Toolkit': Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands

Handbook 3: Reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands

Annex

Case studies on laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands

In response to Action 2.1.1, Operational Objective 2.1 from the Convention’s Strategic Plan (1997-2002), the Ramsar Convention Bureau commissioned the IUCN’s Environmental Law Centre to prepare Guidelines and a Background Paper on reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Drafts of these documents were prepared by Clare Shine and Lyle Glowka based on case studies contributed by Bill Phillips (Australia), Clayton Rubec and Pauline Lynch-Stewart (Canada), Grethel Aguilar (Costa Rica), Devaki Panini (India), Pedro Solano (Peru), John Ntambirweki (Uganda) and Jens Enemark (Wadden Sea Countries). The Drafts were considered at a workshop involving the case study authors and other experts held at the Ramsar Convention Bureau in July 1998, where they were revised and then presented for consideration by the 21^st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention. The Committee endorsed these documents going forward for introduction and consideration in Technical Session II, "National planning for wetland conservation and wise use", at the 7^th Conference of the Contracting Parties, San José, Costa Rica, May 1999. The Guidelines were adopted as Resolution VII.7 Guidelines for reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands, and the Background Paper was presented as DOC. 17.3 Reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Both documents have been incorporated in Handbook 3, Reviewing laws and institutions to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands, of the Ramsar Handbook series published in January 2000 and the case studies have been used to illustrate some of the principles and concepts within the guidelines.

The Bureau gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the seven case study authors. The full texts of the case studies are available to be downloaded (in Word 6 for Windows 95 format) and are listed below by country in alphabetic order. All case studies are available in English only, unless otherwise noted.

The files are posted here more or less "as is", as the authors sent them, and have not been edited by the Ramsar Bureau. The views expressed in the case studies are those of the authors, and should not be attributed to the Ramsar Bureau or any of the project partners.

Australia: Reviewing laws and institutions relevant to wetlands in Australia, by Bill Phillips, formerly with the Ramsar Convention Bureau and currently with Environment Australia.

Canada: Regulatory and non-regulatory approaches for wetland conservation in Canada, by Clayton Rubec, Canadian Wildlife Service, and Pauline Lynch-Stewart, Lynch-Stewart & Associates, Canada.

Costa Rica: Aspectos legales de la Conservación y Uso Racional de los Humedales en Costa Rica de Grethel Aguilar UICN - Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza, Suiza

Legal aspects of the conservation and wise use of wetlands in Costa Rica, by Grethel Aguilar, IUCN- The World Conservation Union, Switzerland.

India: Reviewing laws and institutions relevant to wetlands in India, by Devaki Panini, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) - India.

Peru: Examen de las leyes e instituciones relevantes para los humedales en el Perú de Pedro Solano, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental.

Uganda: The evolution of policy and legislation on wetlands in Uganda, by John Ntambirweki, Makerere University, Uganda.

Wadden Sea countries: Wetlands-related legislation and institutions in the Wadden Sea countries, by Jens Enemark, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Germany.

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 ). Posted 8 May 2000, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.