PDF superior Regional initiatives in the framework of the Ramsar Convention

27. Given the necessity of bringing the funding allocations for 2009 into line with the budget available, and because the remaining two requests are substantially higher in absolute and relative terms, it is suggested that Standing Committee allocate to the East African Ramsar Centre (RAMCEA) and the Black Sea Coastal Wetlands Initiative slightly reduced funding compared to what was requested, as shown in the table above. This would still provide them with substantial financial support, sufficient to assure their development during the first crucial year towards becoming fully operational initiatives in 2010. This initial support should also allow them to become rapidly self-sustaining.

1. Currently, one regional initiative has been formally recognised as operating within the framework of the Ramsar Convention. This is the Mediterranean Wetland Initiative (MedWet). Since 2001 the MedWet Initiative and its C-ordination Unit has operated under the authority of the Secretary General of the Convention, and through Resolution VIII.30 it has been financially supported by the Contracting Parties in the Mediterranean region through additional annual contributions, by hosting and financial contributions from the Government of Greece, and for the 2003-2005 triennium from a contribution from the Convention’s core budget.

- the 51th Session of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (Ministerial Council), held from 21st to 22nd June 2004 in Abuja, Nigeria, “expressed satisfaction with the take-off of the Lake Chad Basin Initiative. To this effect, they decided that the five pilot projects undertaken within the framework of the LCBC/GEF project (all of them coinciding with existing or planned Ramsar sites in the Lake Chad Basin) be considered as concrete contribution to the ChadWet Initiative launched in June 2003 at Izmir (Turkey). In addition, they directed that the ChadWet Initiative be presented as a Ramsar Regional Initiative at the next Conference of the Parties in Kampala (Uganda) in November 2005, in accordance with Resolution VIII.8 of Ramsar”

12. RECOGNIZES the critical importance of financial and political support from Contracting Parties of the region to the MedWet Initiative, and especially from the host country of its Coordination Unit; EXPRESSES ITS SINCERE GRATITUDE to the Government of Greece for hosting the MedWet Unit in Athens, including the provision of adequate office space and financial resources to cover all other expenses during 2001 and 2002; and ACCEPTS the generous offer of the Government of Greece to continue providing office facilities and financial support during the triennium 2003-2005 for the same purpose;

32. In order to draw up a list of regional initiatives to be endorsed as operating within the framework of the Convention, COP10 is invited to adopt “Operational Criteria” as a main new tool and reference against which proposals can be assessed as either corresponding to the requirements for endorsement or needing further preparatory work. A proposal for “Operational Criteria” is attached to COP10 DR 6. They are intended to expand and replace the “guidance for the development” of proposals for regional initiatives adopted by COP8 (Annex I to Resolution VIII.30), which have been used to assess proposals in the past.

All national wetland inventories initiated after COP8 to include information on wetland importance; potential Ramsar sites; wetlands for restoration; location of under- represented wetland types; and values and functions, in particular in relation to poverty eradication strategies.

Conference of the Contracting Parties, qualifying initiatives which have zero financial implications for the Convention’s core budget, and ALSO AUTHORIZES the Standing Committee, within the global allocation for the triennium of the Convention core budget line “Support to Regional Initiatives”, to reallocate funding, if considered appropriate, depending on shifts in priorities and needs in response to requests from initiatives, and REQUESTS the Standing Committee to report to COP10 on the development and funding of the suite of initiatives established by 2008;

56. Those responsible for protecting and managing Ramsar sites establish for each site an effective monitoring programme, ideally as part of the site management plan, which is designed to detect and provide early warning of changes in ecological character, using the Convention’s Framework for designing an effective monitoring programme and its Wetland Risk Assessment Framework, and additionally, linked to this, to use Ramsar sites as baseline and reference areas for national, supranational/regional, and international environmental monitoring to detect trends in the loss of biological diversity, climate change, and the processes of desertification. [CPs] (Strategic Plan actions 11.2.1 and 11.2.2).

provide support for the implementation of the objectives of the Ramsar Convention, and present itself with its own identity, in order to avoid any confusion between the roles of Regional Initiatives, the Ramsar Administrative Authorities at national level, and the Ramsar Secretariat at international level. Practical means to this end are the adoption of a specific logo, to be used in combination with the

For the triennium 2006-2008, the STRP is chaired by Dr Heather Mackay of South Africa and vice-chaired by Rebecca D’Cruz of Malaysia – the membership consists of six regional representatives (one chosen from each of the six Ramsar regions), who are charged with networking with the scientific communities in their regions; six thematic experts chosen for their expertise in the priority areas of work for the period; and representatives of the five International Organization Partners, for 17 full members in all. In addition, the Parties have specified a list of 24 convention secretariats, convention subsidiary scientific bodies, and scientific organizations as officially Invited Observer Organizations, and additional consultants, experts, and organizations are asked to participate as required. The progress of the STRP’s work is guided and supervised from within the Secretariat by the Deputy Secretary General.

The PREZOH, through the Poverty Reduc- tion and Environmental Management Ini- tiative (PREMI) funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), supported the Ramsar Contracting Parties in several areas: capac- ity building and revitalization of national Ramsar Committees, development of na- tional policies / strategies for wetlands and technical and financial support to the Na- tional Ramsar Committee (NRC) for the development of regional initiatives .

As part of the groundwork relating to this Conference of the Parties, the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention has decided that a series of meetings should be held in the six Ramsar regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, the Neotropics, North America, and Oceania) to review the current implementation of the Convention and prepare for the Conference of the Parties. To allow for more in-depth analysis among those Contracting Parties which, due to geographical proximity and other factors have more things in common, the Secretariat of the Convention has decided to organize sub-regional sessions back-to-back with the regional meeting.

the Contracting Parties (COP7, COP8, COP9 and COP10) held, respectively, in San José, Costa Rica, in May 1999, Valencia, Spain, in November 2002, Kampala, Uganda, in November 2005, and Changwon, Republic of Korea, October-November 2008. The guidelines on various matters adopted by the Parties at those and earlier COPs have been prepared as a series of handbooks to assist those with an interest in, or directly involved with, implementation of the Convention at the international, regional, national, subnational or local levels. Each handbook brings together, subject by subject, the various relevant guidances adopted by Parties, supplemented by additional material from COP information papers, case studies and other relevant publications so as to illustrate key aspects of the guidelines. The handbooks are available in the three working languages of the Convention (English, French, and Spanish). The table on the inside back cover lists the full scope of the subjects covered by this handbook series at present. Additional handbooks will be prepared to include any further guidance adopted by future meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties. The Ramsar Convention promotes an integrated package of actions to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetlands. In recognition of these integrated approaches, the reader will find that within each handbook there are numerous cross-references to others in the series.

the Contracting Parties (COP7, COP8, COP9 and COP10) held, respectively, in San José, Costa Rica, in May 1999, Valencia, Spain, in November 2002, Kampala, Uganda, in November 2005, and Changwon, Republic of Korea, October-November 2008. The guidelines on various matters adopted by the Parties at those and earlier COPs have been prepared as a series of handbooks to assist those with an interest in, or directly involved with, implementation of the Convention at the international, regional, national, subnational or local levels. Each handbook brings together, subject by subject, the various relevant guidances adopted by Parties, supplemented by additional material from COP information papers, case studies and other relevant publications so as to illustrate key aspects of the guidelines. The handbooks are available in the three working languages of the Convention (English, French, and Spanish). The table on the inside back cover lists the full scope of the subjects covered by this handbook series at present. Additional handbooks will be prepared to include any further guidance adopted by future meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties. The Ramsar Convention promotes an integrated package of actions to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetlands. In recognition of these integrated approaches, the reader will find that within each handbook there are numerous cross-references to others in the series.

25. Regional initiatives need to generate their own resources and become financially self- sufficient after an initial start-up phase and in the long term. When deciding financial support from the Convention’s core budget, geographically equitable distribution will be taken into account over the long term. This is not always possible during a single interval between two meetings of the COP, for which proposals must be weighed on their merits and readiness to operate.

23. Financial support for a regional initiative from the Convention’s core budget, should the COP and Standing Committee so decide, will only be provided as start-up funding, time- limited for a pre-determined period – in principle not more than the interval between two meetings of the COP. After that period, the initiative should be self-sustaining, and the Ramsar core support for it will be allocated to other initiatives instead. However, in cases where a regional centre continues to fully meet the Operational Criteria such support may continue.

Face à la pression dont fait l’objet les zones humides avec les conséquences sur ses ressources, l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’un plan stratégique constituent un défi majeur aussi bien pour les pays de la zone côtière de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, parties prenantes à la Convention Ramsar, que pour les organisations internationales partenaires et un grand nombre d’organisme à l’échelle de la sous région de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Cette action nécessitera le développement de synergies réelles entre les pays et une participation accrue des organisations non gouvernementales, de la société civile, des communautés à la base, des fondations et autres institutions de conservation, des structures de recherches et de l’éducation et des instances nationales professionnelles. La recherche de toute action dans la pérennisation et la gestion durable des écosystèmes humides de la zone côtière de l’Afrique de l’Ouest fait appel également à l’intervention du secteur privé.

18. Regional initiatives (i.e. networks and centres) are not intended to take up the role of the Convention Secretariat, nor to fulfill Secretariat functions in their region. Their role is complementary to the Secretariat. The major goal of regional initiatives is to increase the capacity and to provide additional support for better implementation of the Ramsar Convention in the region. Staff working for regional initiatives are not staff of the Ramsar Secretariat – their roles are different and they need to be complementary to the roles of Secretariat staff. While Ramsar Secretariat staff act on behalf of the Convention, regional staff cannot act on behalf of the Secretariat and should not be seen to be doing so. Regional initiatives are acting for the benefit of the Convention, but not in the name of it. It needs to be made clear in communication and outreach, including the appropriate use and reference to the “Ramsar” identity, name and logo, that regional initiatives are not regional offices of the Convention. They are set up to provide added value for better implementation of the Convention in the region, and need to avoid duplicating efforts with the Convention Secretariat. To this end, coordinating mechanisms need to be established between regional initiatives and the Ramsar Secretariat, and both need to be aware of the complementary functions of the other.

This initiative is focused on the full participation of all Ramsar Convention parties in the Western Hemisphere, as well as other key actors. The design of the plan of work for CREHO has been based on a needs assessment which was carried out consulting all parties as well as an extensive list of contacts working on wetland issues in the region. CREHO will generate and facilitate alliances with different key wetland actors in the region, as well as promote their close involvement in the development of multiple activities performed by the Center, directly or indirectly. To achieve this, CREHO is establishing technical and research cooperation agreements with universities, research centers, governmental and non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental institutions at local, regional and international levels.

31. At each of its triennial meetings, the Conference of the Parties allocates a specific amount of funding to the core budget line for Regional Initiatives for the time until its next meeting. Based on this global amount, the Standing Committee allocates specific funds to individual Initiatives on an annual basis. This annual allocation will be based on individual reports to be submitted in good time in a standard format to the Secretariat. These reports will provide information on the operational readiness and the urgency of Ramsar core funding needs by the Initiative during the coming year.