Wise Use Resource Library - index page

Wise Use Resource Centre The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Wise Use Resource Centre

The Wise Use Resource Library

Note: The "wise use" principle inscribed in Article 3.1 of the Convention in 1971, and its definition and application by the Conference of the Contracting Parties, have been established and have evolved completely independently from the so-called "wise use movement" that has emerged in recent years in North America. The use of the same term does not necessarily indicate that there is a commonality of understanding and/or purpose.

National Wetland Policies and Strategic Plans

Australia: The Wetlands Policy of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, 1997	Greece: National Strategy for Wetland Resources, 1999
Canada: The Canadian Federal Government Policy on Wetland Conservation, 1991	Nepal: National Wetlands Policy, 2003 (PDF)
Chile: Estrategia Nacional de Humedales, 2005	New Zealand: New Zealand Wetlands Management Policy, 1986
Colombia: Política Nacional Para Humedales Interiores de Colombia; Estrategias Para Su Conservación y Uso Racional, 2001	Spain: Plan Estratégico Español para la Conservación y el Uso Racional de los Humedales, 1999
Costa Rica: Programa Nacional De Humedales, Politica De Humedales De Costa Rica, 2001	Trinidad and Tobago: National Policy and Programs for Wetlands, 2002
Ghana: A National Wetlands Conservation Strategy, 1999	Turkey: 2003-2008 National Wetlands Strategy for Turkey, 2002
Guatemala: Política Nacional de Humedales de Guatemala, 2006	Uganda: National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wetland Resources, Uganda, 1995

Other government policies and statements on wetlands

Argentina: Politica Ambiental, Provincia del Chaco, 2005
Costa Rica: Canon por Concepto de Aprovechamiento de Aguas, 2006
United Kingdom policy statement for Ramsar sites in England, 2000
United Kingdom policy statement for Ramsar sites in Wales (English) (Welsh), 2001

Wetland site management plans [reprints]

Albania: Karvasta Lagoon, 1996
Australia: Towra Point, 2001
Botswana, Okavango Delta Management Plan, 2008 (2.8MB PDF)
Bulgaria: Srebarna, 2000
China: Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve, Hainan, 1999
Ecuador: Laguna de Cube, 2002
India: Wular Lake, Kashmir, 2007 (6.9MB PDF)
Russian Federation: Karaginsky Island, Kamchatka, 2000
Thailand, Nong Bong Kai Wetland Management Plan (PDF)

Law and legislation, international and national

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: has it made a difference? (2002), Michael Bowman
Rehabilitating nature: a comparative review of legal mechanisms that encourage wetland restoration efforts (2003), Royal C. Gardner
The Ramsar Convention comes of age (1995), M. J. Bowman
Rebuttal to "Wise use of wetlands under the Ramsar Convention: A challenge for meaningful implementation of international law" (2001), Bill Phillips
The United States Clean Water Act
Review of Policy and Legislative Support to the Sustainable use of Wetlands in Namibia with specific Reference to the Zambezi River Basin, by Shirley Bethune and Oliver C Ruppel (2007)

Other

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: assessment of international designations within the United States (2007), Royal C. Gardner and Kim Diana Connolly
The Ramsar Convention: Measuring its Effectiveness for Conserving Wetlands of International Importance, an independent report (2002), Gonzalo Castro, Kenneth Chomitz, and Timothy S. Thomas, The World Bank and World Wildlife Fund
Managing tourism in wetlands - some useful resources
Restoration of wetlands - some useful resources

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 2 February 1998, updated 4 April 2008, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.