RAMSAR Convention meeting highlights

The IUCN Ecosystem Management Newsletter reports on the November meeting of the 9th Conference of the Parties to the RAMSAR Convention:

"To reverse the evident trend of the increasing loss and degradation of wetlands, stronger commitment of the Country Parties to the Ramsar Convention is needed. This was one of the key messages of the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention that took place mid November in Uganda. Thankfully, the adoption of resolution DR1 on the further development of the Ramsar's wise use concept will facilitate work on addressing the underlying causes on wetland loss. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) launched its Wetlands Synthesis at this event. The MEA report on the status of wetlands shows that their decline has accelerated over the past years and that loss of ecosystem services from coastal and inland wetlands
has been higher than that of other marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The loss of valuable goods and services delivered by freshwater ecosystems is increasingly leading to loss of livelihoods and income of wetland-dependent communities. The World Conservation Union, as one of the International Organizational Partners of the Convention, advised its state members on the technical implications of the many resolutions, and also presented new developments in approaches for wise use of wetlands. The Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention welcomed further the Ecosystem Approach as a framework for integration to achieve the wise use of wetlands. This was the result of a side event hosted by Commission on Ecosystem
Management and International Water Management Institute on the Ecosystem Approach."

The newsletter article includes links to:

Speech of Achim Steiner on behalf of BirdLife International, Wetlands
International, WWF and IUCN
http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2005/11/ramsar_cop9_a_steiner_speech.pdf

Highlights of the Conference
http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2005/11/ramsarcop9_morenews_15_11_2005.pdf
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Ramsar COP9
http://www.ramsar.org/index_cop9_e.htm

About the CEM side event
http://www.iucn.org/themes/cem/documents/news/2005/cem_ramsarcop9_sideevent.pdf