World Wetlands Day 2002: The cultural heritage of wetlands

An information pack of eleven sheets on the cultural heritage and values of wetlands, prepared in coordination with planning for World Wetlands Day 2002

Ramsar’s World Wetlands Day 2002 is focused on the cultural heritage in wetlands and the need for management strategies that will safeguard this heritage as well as the natural values and functions of wetlands. These fact sheets look at the many aspects of cultural heritage in our wetlands and give a preview of some of the guidance on integrating cultural issues into the wise use and management of wetlands that will be presented to the Ramsar community in the up-coming Conference of the Parties in, Valencia, Spain, in November 2002, when the theme will be Wetlands: water, life and culture.

In preparing these sheets for World Wetlands Day, the Ramsar Bureau has called upon the expertise of archaeologists, ethnobiologists, wetland ecologists, conservationists working with the world’s religious leaders and advisors to the World Heritage Convention, testimony in itself to the multi-faceted nature of the cultural heritage associated with wetlands. A list of acknowledgements appears below.

The hardcopy cultural information pack is available in reasonable quantities from the Ramsar Bureau -- click here for ordering information -- and can be downloaded here in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Each PDF file is about 400 to 500 kb in size and requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.

The cultural heritage of wetlands (introduction)	La patrimoine culturel des zones humides (introduction)	El patrimonio culturel de los humedales
The history of wetlands and people	L’histoire de l’homme et des zones humides	La historia de los humedales y los seres humanos
Wetlands as an early source of food and raw materials	Les zones humides: premières source de nourriture et de matières premières	Los humedales, una fuente primigenia de alimentos y materias primas
Working in wetlands -- the tools of the trade	Travailler dans les zones humides -– tout un art	El trabajo en los humedales y su instrumental
Cultural heritage -- a management challenge	Le patrimoine culturel -- un défi pour la gestion	El patrimonio cultural de los humedales -- problemas de ordenación
Wetlands -- a cultural landscape	Les zones humides -- paysages culturels	Los humedales -- un paisaje cultural
The World Heritage Convention, cultural landscapes and wetlands	La Convention du patrimoine mondial, les paysages culturels et les zones humides	La Convención del Patrimonio Mundial, los paisajes culturales y los humedales
Wetlands -- a cultural landscape for learning and leisure	Les zones humides -- un paysage culturel pour apprendre et se détendre	Los humedales -- un paisaje cultural propicio al aprendizaje y al ocio
Wetlands and spiritual life	Les zones humides et la vie spirituelle	Los humedales y la vida espiritual
Wetlands -- an inspiration in art, music, literature and folklore	Les zones humides -- inspiration pour l’art, la musique, la littérature et le folklore	Los humedales, fuente de inspiración del arte, la literatura, la música y el folclore
Wetland cultural heritage and the Ramsar Convention	Le patrimoine culturel des zones humides et la Convention de Ramsar	El patrimonio cultural de los humedales y la Convención de Ramsar

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands wishes to thank in particular the following people and institutions for their generous assistance in the preparation of this info pack:

Professor Bryony Coles, Archaeology Department, University of Exeter, United Kingdom --- Dr Jorge Cruz, Museo de Etnología de la Diputacion de Valencia, Spain --- Dr Mohammed El Ayadi, Sede Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos (SEHUMED), Spain --- Mr Rolf Hogan, IUCN -The World Conservation Union --- Ms Maryland Morant, Sede para el Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos (SEHUMED), Spain --- Mr Richard Prime, Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), United Kingdom --- Dr Maria José Viñals, Sede para el Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos (SEHUMED), Spain and the Ministry of Environment, Spain.

The Bureau is also grateful to the following people and institutions who have assisted in a number of ways:

Dr Maria Anagnostopoulou, Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre (EKBY), Greece --- Mr Oscar Andreu, Sede para el Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos (SEHUMED), Spain --- Mr Jim Corven, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), USA --- Mr Tim Dodman, Wetlands International Africa Programme, Senegal --- Ms Asuncion Garcia, Museo de Etnología de la Diputacion de Valencia, Spain --- Dr Hans Joosten, University of Greifswald, Germany --- Mr Denis Landenbergue, WWF International, Switzerland --- Ms Julia Langer, WWF Canada --- Dr Adrian Olivier, European Archaeological Council, Belgium --- Mr Martin Palmer, Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), United Kingdom --- Mr Raymond Pouget, Oiseaux Migrateurs de Paléarctique Occidental (OMPO), France --- Ms Maria Sanchez, Sede para el Estudio de los Humedales Mediterráneos (SEHUMED), Spain --- Mr Steve Szabo, Environment Australia, Australia --- Ms Taeko Takahashi, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan --- Dr Harri Vasander, Peatland Ecology Group, University of Helsinki, Finland --- WWF Brazil

These excellent products for World Wetlands Day have been financially supported by the Evian Project funded by the Danone Group.

For further information about World Wetlands Day or the 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 26 October 2001, updated 3 December, 2001, Sandra Hails and Dwight Peck, Ramsar.