Thematic Groups for RCN activities

The Ramsar culture coordination team is currently defining the scope and terms of reference for RCN “Thematic Groups” to take forward activities in five thematic areas: Bio-Cultural Diversity, Agriculture & Food Heritage, Art & Architecture, Youth Engagement, and Tourism. RCN members interested in joining any of these Thematic Groups should contact us at culture@ramsar.org!

To date, two Thematic Groups have been defined. The first is on Bio-Cultural Diversity, which will be led by Dr Peter Bridgewater, who was previously Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention and is a member of the Indigenous and Local Knowledge task Force for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The Bio-Cultural Diversity Thematic Group will be particularly concerned with the knowledge and practices, both traditional and emerging, of local and indigenous communities with strong connections to wetlands, including through spiritual values linked to water and wetlands.

The second Thematic Group will concentrate on Agriculture & Food, and will be led by Dr Parviz Koohafkan. Dr Koohafkan is the President of the World Agricultural Heritage Foundation and the former director of Land and Water Division of FAO. As the focal point of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Chapter of Agenda 21 and Rio Summit in FAO, he conceptualized and launched the UN Partnership Initiative on “Conservation and Adaptive Management of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)”.

More information on how the Thematic Groups will work in practice will be forthcoming in the next few months. In the meantime, RCN members interested in joining any of the Groups mentioned above are invited to contact us at culture@ramsar.org. We hope this will offer an effective mechanism for doing productive work, and will provide an enjoyable way of getting involved!