Ramsar Chair for the "Wise Use of Wetlands" established

The UNESCO Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE), Charles Sturt University and the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands signed an agreement establishing the Ramsar Chair for the "Wise Use of Wetlands" at the Budaperst High Level Water Summit. Read more [12/10/13]

Who's Where?

Deputy Secretary General Nick Davidson is in Montreal, Canada, 12-18 October, representing Ramsar at the Convention on Biological Diversity's 17th meeting of its Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which will be focused on discussing scientific and technical needs for achieving the 20 "Aichi targets" for biodiversity. He is also contributing to several expert meetings prior to SBSTTA, on the preparation of the 4th edition of the "Global Biodiversity Outlook" (GBO-4), biodiversity Convention synergies for mobilizing financial resources, and enhancing biodiversity data and observing systems to support the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.

Marcela Bonells, Scientific and Technical Support Officer, is attending the ‘Asia Regional Workshop on Scientific and Technical Support for Implementation of the Ramsar Convention’ in Changwon (R.O. Korea) from 7 to 11 October. [07/10/13]

Lynn Sorrentino, Programme Management Officer, will be in Indonesia until 13 October in support of the Danone partnership. She is observing and documenting training on carbon sequestration monitoring of mangrove reforestation projects of several NGO partners of the Livelihoods Fund. [07/10/13]

Lew Young, Senior Regional Advisor for Asia-Oceania will be away from the office from 19 September until 11 October. During this time, he will be attending the ‘Workshop for Asian wetland site managers’ in Manila (Philippines) from 20 – 29 Sep; the 4th ASEAN Heritage Parks Congress in Tagaytay City (Philippines) from 30 Sep – 4 Oct; and the ‘Asia Regional Workshop on Scientific and Technical Support for Implementation of the Ramsar Convention’ in Changwon (R.O. Korea) from 7 – 11 Oct. [18/09/13]

For more old Ramsar Secretariat travel news, see also 'Who Was Where', 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 , 2012

Yesterday's News

International gathering on saving drying lakes in Turkey

On 17 and 18 September 2013, the Doğa Derneği / Nature Society (BirdLife Turkey) organised the “International Gathering on Saving Drying Lakes” in Burdur, Turkey, with the support of MAVA Foundation and Vaillant. The city of Burdur is located close to Lake Burdur, one of Turkey’s first Ramsar Sites, facing serious water loss mainly due to the construction of dams on tributaries for irrigation. Read more [02/10/13]

Latest Ramsar activities in Brazil and Colombia

Maria Rivera, Senior Advisor for the Americas at the Ramsar Secretariat, reports back on Brazil celebrating 20 years of Ramsar membership and Colombia starting the challenging process of delineating its wetlands. More [30/09/13]

A smart plan for the wise use of wetlands: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)

A series of interviews with experts on wetland management in Africa gives insights on how research, policy and capacity building are contributing to the wise use of wetlands and what needs to be done to further protect them across the region.

The interviewees were gathered at the “Wetlands: Wise Use, Smart Plans” Forum, held in Kigali, Rwanda from 8 to 13 July 2013. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Water and Wetlands initiative was launched at the Forum. The TEEB draws attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity and the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The Forum, attended by over 100 participants from 23 African countries, was jointly organised by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), the Ramsar Convention Secretariat and the Centre for Development and Innovation (CDI) of Wageningen University. More information on the forum [27/09/13]