Rebecca D’Cruz – a wonderful wetland champion passes away

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ms. Rebecca D’Cruz on 29 May 2023 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Rebecca truly dedicated her life to wetland conservation and its wise use. She began her career at Wetland International Asia Pacific in 1990. She served the Convention as the Secretariat’s Regional Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific from 1997 to 2000 and assisted in the accession of eight Contracting Parties to the Convention during her tenure.

Despite leaving the Secretariat in 2000 to establish a natural resources management consultancy providing expert advice and services for wetlands management in the Asia-Pacific Region, she continued to support the work of the Convention as the Co-Chair for the “Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s Synthesis Report” for the Convention on Wetlands in 2004. She was also Vice-Chair of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) from 2009 to 2012.

She will be dearly missed by the Secretariat colleagues and the Ramsar community for her passion and dedication to wetland conservation. On behalf of the Convention, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and many friends across the world.