Ramsar’s International
Organization Partners (IOPs):
How the IOPs support the Convention
at global, regional and national level:
the case of WWF
5 Ramsar IOPs (so far!)
• Birdlife International
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN)
• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• Wetlands International
• WWF
• (but potential for more – eg. CI, TNC, etc.)
Global level
• IOPs support the general objectives and implementation
of Ramsar Convention 3 pillars
• each IOP has a Memorandum of Cooperation with the
Ramsar Secretariat (6 years validity, currently under
renewal process)
• a key IOP criteria is to have a presence/wetland
conservation activities in all 5 Ramsar Regions
• IOPs have an Observer status at Ramsar COPs, and
Standing Committee meetings
Regional level
• IOPs are actively involved in selected Ramsar Regional
Initiatives, together with Ramsar Secretariat, Governments,
Scientific/academic institutions, etc.
• IOPs have an Observers at Regional Pre-COP meetings
• IOPs often act as facilitators between Governments,
Donors eg. GAAs or Multilateral, Foundations, Corporate
Sector, etc.
• IOPs may, upon request from the Ramsar Secretariat,
intervene on its behalf at specific meetings where/when
Ramsar Secretariat can’t be directly represented (eg.
International River Basin Organizations)
CICOS – Commission
Internationale CongoOubangui-Sangha
• Official designation by
DRC of the world’s
largest Ramsar Site
(Kinshasa, July 2008):
Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombé
• Speech made by WWF
International on behalf of
the Ramsar Secretariat
National level
• Support implementation of Ramsar’s 3 pillars:
• Management of Wetlands (incl. support to
management plans preparation and/or implementation,
preparation of National Wetlands Policies, National
Wetland Inventories, etc.)
• Designation of Wetlands on the Ramsar List
• Technical and Policy advise to Governments in
framework of Regional Ramsar Initiatives
• Contribute to the “awareness continuity” at national level
(eg. in case of changes of Ministers, Heads of Ramsar
AA’s, NFPs, etc.) about Ramsar implementation, tools,
objectives, Standing Committee discussions, etc.
National level (ct’d)
• Support (logistics, preparation, contacts) provided in the
framework of Ramsar Advisory Missions (RAMs)
• Provision of advice/recommendation on Ramsar processes
such as listing on Montreux Record (MR), necessary
measures and potential sources of support to plan Ramsar
Site removal from the MR
• Technical assistance for the establishment of Ramsar/
Wetlands Information Centres, training of Ramsar Centre
staff, etc.
The example of WWF:
“born in a wetland” (1961)
Nearly 50 years later,
WWF is still at Donana…
• Freshwater habitat
conservation:
– Buying wetland areas with
generous private donation
– Securing Donana National Park
establishment (1968)
– Supporting Ramsar Site
designation (1982)
– Mining accident/Donana
contamination (Montreux Record
– early 2000’s)
– 1st Ramsar Advisory Mission
(2003)
– 2nd Ramsar Advisory mission
(cooperation Ramsar – World
Heritage, December 2011)
• Water Security issues:
– Illegal ground-water abstraction
for agriculture
– Guadalquivir River dredging plans
– Oil-Refinery project nearby
Donana
• Water footprint issues:
– Intensive (partly illegal) strawberry
cultivation development
• Flagship species
conservation issue:
– Iberian Lynx, Spanish Imperial
Eagle
30 November, 2010 - 13
A co-founder in cmmon
for WWF and Ramsar
Overview of of WWF-generated
Freshwater habitat conservation results
(2000-2009)
• Over 100 million ha of
new FW protected areas
established globally (of
which ca. 80% under
Ramsar)
• 10 new Ramsar CPs (of
which 4 in Africa:
Cameroon, C.A.R.,
Sudan, Mozambique)
• 4 out of the world’s 5
largest Ramsar Sites
established
• Support and/or advice to the
progress of Ramsar Regional
Initiatives (MedWet, ChadWet,
NigerWet, CongoWet, NileWet)
• National Wetlands
Policy/regulations under
development (Madagascar,
Niger, Algeria, Tunisia)
WWF’s
Wetland Conservation priorities
(2010-2020)
• Complete Africa-wide
Ramsar CPs membership
(eg. Angola, Ethiopia,
Zimbabwe)
• Continue support to
Africa’s contribution to
Ramsar global target of
2500 Sites/250 mio ha
• Support formal transboundary Ramsar
designations
• Extended support to selected
Ramsar Regional Initiatives
(MedWet, CongoWet, NileWet)
• Wetlands management projects
in the field
Songwe River Transboundary Catchment
Management Project
• one of the main
tributaries to the Lake
Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa
• located on the
Malawi/Tanzania border
• Biodiversity issue =
conservation of endemic
cychlid fish breeding
ground at Songwe River
mouth
30 November, 2010 - 26
Success in Wetlands Conservation very much
depends on having
the right people, at the right place,
at the right time, and for the right duration
(within as well as outside WWF)