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Ramsar Conference, Bucharest

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Action Type(s): Advocacy / awareness raising
Language(s): English
Themes: GHG emissions from wetlands, Waterbirds and other biodiversity, Waterbird monitoring, Wetlands in general
Offices: Africa Office (Senegal), Headquarters (Netherlands), Mali office, Japan Office, Russia office, South Asia office, South America office (Argentina)
Continent / Country / Region: Global, Europe - Middle East
Action Duration: Jul 2012 Until Jul 2012

The Ramsar Conference (6 - 13 July 2012 in Bucharest, Romania) offered an opportunity to strengthen and extend the reach of the Convention to achieve improved wetland conservation and management. We attended the conference with a team of experts from our global network and engaged Contracting Parties and partners to achieve these objectives.

Action Description:

Read our press releases:

Small steps forward at Ramsar Conference of Parties

Wetlands International presses for action on the drivers of wetland destruction at the Ramsar Conference of Parties

Resolutions for adoption

At the the conference a number of resolutions were considered by Contracting Parties addressing some of the most significant issues impacting wetlands, including agriculture, climate change and energy. These are:

Draft Resolution 10 (energy) preventing increased greenhouse gas emissions from energy development - in particular biofuels - in wetlands
Draft Resolution 14 (climate change) stimulating the new incentives created under the Kyoto Protocol and opportunities under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) to restore and better manage peatlands
Draft Resolution 15 (agriculture & pesticides) to reduce the overuse of pesticides in rice paddy ecosystems.
Draft Resolution 20 (responsible investment in land) to ensure wetlands and their underlying freshwater are protected from the growing impacts of foreign-based land investment.

View our positions on Draft Resolutions

Our activities and events

Our staff engaged in several side events on global and regional themes relevant to the Convention and COP11 issues. We led the following side events:

Sunday 8 July

An urgent global call to reduce pesticide-related risks in rice paddy production systems: responsible management of wetland agro-ecosystems for food security and biodiversity conservation.

View Leaflet | FAO factsheet on plant protection | PAN factsheet on pest outbreaks | FAO guide to sustainable intensification | side event blog

View the presentations:

Daniel Blanco, Wetlands International Argentina presented his research on the importance of rice paddies for biodiversity in South America: Biodiversity conservation and rice production in southern South America.
Ritesh Kumar, Wetlands International South Asia office in India presented a case study demonstrating the need for an integrated approach to agriculture-wetland interactions that focuses on ecosystem health. Case study from S. Asia on rice paddies: pesticide use and related land and water management challenges
Johannes Ketelaar, FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific Save and Grow: Pesticide Risk Reduction for Sustainable Intensification of Rice Production
Finbarr Horgan, International Rice Research Institute Overuse of pesticides in Asian rice paddies: A threat to rice ecosystem integrity and productivity

Sunday 8 July

Launch of the Waterbird Population Estimates V and report of the first Global Inter-Flyway Network meeting
View Leaflet

Sunday 8 July

STRP briefing event: wetlands in a changing climate
View Leaflet

Tuesday 10 July

Peatlands: global challenges and opportunities for the Ramsar Convention

View Leaflet

Featured a presentation on our latest publication: Peatlands – guidance for climate change mitigation by conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use

View the presentations:

Tatiana Minayeva, Wetlands International: Ramsar and peatlands - the implementation of Res. VIII.17 on Global Action on Peatlands by Ramsar parties
Jan Peters, Michael Succow Foundation: Latest global peatland policy developments and initiatives
Chen Kelin, Wetlands International China: Peatlands in Ruoergai China: challenges and opportunities for
conservation and rewetting
Wu Ning, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD): Conservation of High Altitude Peatlands in the Greater Himalayas
Anatoli Lis, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Protection of the Republic of Belarus: Peatlands: global challenges and opportunities for Ramsar
Viktar Fenchuk, APB-BirdLife Belarus: Peatland restoration and conservation in Belarus
Andrey Sirin, Russian Academy of Sciences: Latest developments in peatland related climate
policies including UNFCCC, IPCC and voluntary carbon markets
Izolda Matchutadze, International Mire Conservation Group: Unique Kolkheti peatlands of Georgia - its conservation, rehabilitation, ecotourism development

Tuesday 10 July

Wetlands wise use and oil and gas development: problems and opportunities

View Leaflet | View Event Summary

View the presentations:

Lyubov Malyshkina (OJSC “Surgutneftegas”) – experiences implementing advanced technology in the Russian (sub) Arctic.
Valentina Andreeva, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. – practical results in the protection of bird species in relation to pipeline construction on the Chaivo Spit (Sakhalin Island).
Aleksandr Sediakin, OAO «TNK-Nyagan» – branch of TNK BP Company – overview of the activities aimed at sustainable development in oil-gas condensate field situated within “Verchnee Dvuobje” Ramsar Site in northern Russia.
Svetlana Sheynfeld, UNDP Project Support Office in the Russian Federation – mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into Russia’s energy sector policies and operations.

Side events of others

We also participated in the following side events:

Monday 9 July

13.15 – 14.45, Room 3

Tools for Parties: practical demonstration on use of IUCN Freshwater species datasets: tools for site designation and / or management and monitoring

Tuesday 10 July

13.15 – 14.45, Room 3

Valuing wetlands – Capturing economic benefits from wetlands wise use

Thursday 12 July

13.15 – 14.45, Room 7

The disappearing tidal flats of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

View Leaflet

Thursday 12 July

13.15 – 14.45, Room 9

For peat’s sake! Arctic wetlands in a changing world

Friday 13 July

13.15 – 14.45, Room 4

Wetland Centre Networks, CEPA and flyways

Wetlands International & the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Wetlands International was instrumental in establishing the convention in 1971 and has played a key guiding and implementing role as an International Organisation Partner for the past 40 years. Together with partners and contracting parties (national governments), we provide crucial information on wetlands and waterbirds.

We remain on the cutting edge of management approaches and research and provide information on Ramsar sites through our Ramsar Site Information Service. We have also been instrumental in amplifying the health, livelihoods and poverty, as well as climate dimensions involved in wetland conservation within the convention.