The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

World Wetlands Day 2002: Bolivia

Bolivia Celebrates International Wetlands Week Launching the
"The Wetlands Train"

Home to the fourth largest Ramsar site in the world - the Pantanal - Bolivia is proud to celebrate International Wetlands Week from January 28 through February 2nd. Activities scheduled to celebrate the event with the general public include a drawing, music composition, story telling and handicrafts contest. The central theme of the contest will be wetlands.

In addition to the contests, an agreement has been set with FO, the company which manages train services to the Pantanal. Several train compartments will be decorated with a colorful mural depicting the richness of the Bolivian Pantanal as well as a message, "Pantanal . . . a home to take care of" ("Pantanal; un hogar para cuidar") incentivating its conservation among the general public as a source of life and culture for Bolivia and worldwide. This is the initial launching of a long term campaign in which WWF Bolivia plans on implementing a "travelling" interpretation center on board one of the train's compartments sharing conservation information with the travelling public to the Bolivian Pantanal. Similar efforts will also take place in the train stations in both Santa Cruz and other cities on route to the Pantanal.

WWF Bolivia has been complying with the Ramsar Convention criteria by ensuring that activities are developed and carried out linking local communities with the ancestral management of the Bolivian Pantanal. This is important considering that wetlands are valuated as a cultural heritage.

Para más información, se ruega contactar: Oficina de la Convención de Ramsar, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Suiza (Tel: +41 22 999 0170, Fax: +41 22 999 0169, E-mail ramsar@ramsar.org). Este texto se incluyó en el sitio Web el 23 de enero de 2002, el 21 de marzo de 2002. Dwight Peck, Ramsar.