University of Petroleum and Energy Studies Dehradun

Environmental Law

Assignment

RAMSAR CONVENTION ON WETLANDS

Submitted To:
Shraddha Baranwal COLS

Submitted By:
Gaurav Yadu B.A. LL.B 500012435

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Table of Contents

Name
Wetlands Need For Convention Growth of Convention Bodies of Convention Success Story: Ramsar Convention

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3 4 5 7 10

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Wetlands Definition:
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. Primarily, the factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation that is adapted to its unique soil conditions. It is an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic processes, which, in turn, forces the biota, particularly rooted plants, to adapt to flooding. Main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs and fens. Definition of Wetland according to RAMSAR Convention: Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty, wetlands are defined as follows:

Article 1.1: "...wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres." Article 2.1: "[Wetlands] may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands."1

Convention Text RAMSAR Convention.

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Need for the Convention2

The initial call for such a network of international wetlands came in 1962 during a conference which formed part of Project MAR (from MARshes, MARcages, MARismas), a programme established two years earlier because of concerns at the rapid destruction of European marshes and other wetlands with a resulting decline in the numbers of waterbirds. The MAR Conference was organized by Luc Hoffmann, one of the founders of the World Wildlife Fund. Some 80 experts from non-governmental environmental organizations, governments mostly from European countries, and hunting associations published their recommendations, in which they called for a list of internationally important wetlands to be protected and for the development of an international treaty to give that list legal force. At first, the draft text was directed specifically at the conservation of waterfowl through the creation of a network of refuges, but as it developed the conservation of wetland habitat (rather than species) became the main focus. Finally, at an international meeting organized by Irans Game and Fish Department, held in the Caspian seaside resort of Ramsar, the text of the Convention was agreed on 2 February 1971 and signed by the delegates of 18 nations the next day. The treaty entered into force in December 1975, upon receipt by UNESCO, the Convention Depositary, of the seventh instrument of accession to or ratification of the Convention. Ramsar is thus the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, and it is still the only one that addresses a specific ecosystem. The text of the Convention was inspirational for its time in the way it strongly emphasized both the interdependence of people and wetlands and the critical roles that wetlands play in the hydrological cycle and sustainable water management. The official name of the treaty, The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, reflects the original emphasis upon the conservation of wetlands primarily as habitat for water birds. Since that time, the Convention has broadened its philosophical horizons to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and wise (i.e., sustainable) use, recognizing wetlands as ecosystems that are vital for biodiversity conservation, for water management, and for the well-being of human communities, thus fulfilling the full scope of the original text of the Convention.

Dwight Peck RAMSARs Liquid Assets 40 Years of the Convention on Wetlands http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/Ramsar40_booklet/Ramsar_LiquidAssets_E.pdf

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Growth of Convention
The Convention began slowly it was four years after its signing in 1971 before it entered into force with the ratification of its 7th Contracting Party but by 1980, at the time of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP1), there were already 28 member States. The original treaty was modified in 1982 by the Paris Protocol, which created a mechanism for further changes as needed, and by the Regina Amendments of 1987, which established a financial budget, a Standing Committee, and a permanent secretariat. Throughout the 1980s the Convention continued to grow, from 35 Parties and 300 Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) at COP2 in 1984 to twice that, 77 Parties and 610 Ramsar Sites, by the time of COP5 in 1993. Much of that growth came through the accession of new Parties from the developing world, and so quite naturally the context of the Conventions work expanded from sustainable use to embrace sustainable development as well. The Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP), a subsidiary advisory body of independent scientific experts, was created in 1993 and began to develop what has become a formidable suite of guidelines and recommendations for adoption by the Conference of the Parties.

The Conventions communications work developed rapidly in the 1990s. The Ramsar website was begun in 1996 and soon became the centerpiece of the Secretariats daily contact with the Ramsar family and the public. The annual World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997 and has since that time been the keystone of Ramsars public visibility, and the triennial Ramsar Wetland Conservation Awards were first bestowed in 1999.

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By the end of the 1990s, the Ramsar Convention was well on its way towards universal coverage, celebrating its 100th Contracting Party in 1997 and its 1000th Ramsar Site in 1999, and had established itself as an indispensable partner in global environmental collaboration. At the end of that decade, Ramsar had reached its maturity and, in many ways, its modern shape and role. The Convention has continued to grow steadily in the 2000s, reaching 160 Parties in 2010. In 2005 the Parties recognized the relevance of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessments findings on the inter linkages between ecosystems, the services they deliver to people, and human wellbeing, and COP9 adopted this as the Conventions framework for the achievement of wise use through the maintenance of the ecological character of wetlands.

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Bodies of the Convention

There are mainly 4 bodies of the Convention: 1. Conference of Parties - The Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP) is the policy-making organ of the Convention. Government representatives from each of the Contracting Parties meet every three years to receive national reports on the preceding triennium, approve the work programme and budgetary arrangements for the next three years, and consider guidance for the Parties on a range of ongoing and emerging environmental issues. The programme of each meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties includes a number of technical sessions which analyze ongoing and emerging issues of importance in the field of wetland conservation and wise use, including further interpretation and development of the key Convention concepts and guidance for the Parties on key areas of implementation. Ramsar COPs have gained the reputation of being highly effective events, allowing an active involvement and participation of the nongovernmental and academic communities. 2. Standing Committee - The Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention is the intersessional executive body which represents the Conference of the Contracting Parties between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the Conference of the Contracting Parties. the Standing Committee shall have the following tasks: To designate their delegates to the Standing Committee taking into account their significant responsibilities as Regional Representatives, according to paragraph 10 of this resolution, and to make every effort that their delegates or their substitutes attend all meetings of the Committee. When there is more than one Regional Representative in a regional group, to maintain regular contacts and consultations with the other regional representative(s). To maintain regular contacts and consultations with the Contracting Parties in their regional group, and to use the opportunities of travel within their regions and of attending regional or international meetings to consult about issues related to the Convention and to promote its objectives. To canvass the opinions of the Contracting Parties in their regional group before meetings of the Standing Committee. To advise the Secretariat in setting the agenda of regional meetings. To assume additional responsibilities by serving as members of the subgroups established by the Standing Committee.

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To provide advice as requested by the Chairperson and/or the chairs of subgroups and/or the Secretariat of the Convention. In the regions concerned, to make deliberate efforts to encourage other countries to join the Convention."

3. Scientific and Technical Review Panel The Scientific and Technical Review Panel of the Ramsar Convention was established by Resolution 5.5 (Kushiro) as a subsidiary body of the Convention to provide scientific and technical guidance to the Conference of Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Ramsar Secretariat. Its individual members are appointed by the STRP Oversight Committee, and the Standing Committee has the overall responsibility for the work of STRP. The STRPs Work Plan for each triennium is built around the priority tasks determined by the Standing Committee, which are based on the requests from the Conference of Parties by means of its Strategic Plans and COP Resolutions and Recommendations.

4. Secretariat - The Ramsar Convention Secretariat carries out the day-to-day coordination of the Convention's activities. It is located in the headquarters facilities of IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in Gland, Switzerland, and Secretariat staff are legally considered to be employees of IUCN. The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary General who answers to the Standing Committee and who supervises the work of a small number (currently 16) of policy/technical, communications and administrative staff, four interns, and one outposted representative in Apia, Samoa. The Policy and Technical staff in the Secretariat itself comprise the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General and four Senior Regional Advisors to assist the Parties (in Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe); the interns serve as Assistant Advisors for the regions to form two-person "regional advisory teams". The functions of the Secretariat are to: Maintain the List of Wetlands of International Importance and note any additions and changes to the List and the Ramsar Sites Database (day-to-day development of the Database is subcontracted to Wetlands International);3 Assist in convening and organizing the Conference of the Parties, the meetings of the Standing Committee and the STRP, and Ramsar regional meetings;

Convention Text RAMSAR Convention

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Provide administrative, scientific, and technical support to Contracting Parties, especially in relation to the implementation of the Ramsar Strategic Plan; Assist in recruiting new Contracting Parties; Make known the decisions, Resolutions, and Recommendations of the COP and the Standing Committee; Provide secretariat functions for the Scientific and Technical Review Panel and maintain the functionality of the Web-based STRP Support Service; Seek financial contributions for the Small Grants Fund, circulate an annual call for applications, and evaluate the project proposals received from Contracting Parties, and evaluate proposals received for the Wetlands for the Future assistance programme;4 Administer projects funded with earmarked contributions; Keep the Contracting Parties, the Ramsar community, and the public informed of developments related to the Convention; Inform and advise inquirers, where possible, about matters concerning the Convention and wetlands; Organize Ramsar Advisory Missions at the request of Contracting Parties and contribute to follow-up of RAM reports; and5 Develop avenues of cooperation with other conventions, intergovernmental institutions, and national and international NGOs.

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Convention Text RAMSAR Convention Convention Text RAMSAR Convention

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Success Story: Ramsar Convention6

The status of a nations wetlands is affected positively in countries that have established a National Wetland Policy (or equivalent) and an active multi-sectoral National Ramsar or Wetland Committee and that have undertaken other recommended activities at national and local levels. Having an active multisectoral National Ramsar or Wetland Committee is also a strong tool to support in-country implementation. Designation by countries of the Conventions flagship of Ramsar Sites continues to progress. The more than 1,900 wetlands covering nearly 186 million hectares (August 2010) makes the Ramsar List by far the worlds largest network of protected areas. Recent surveys by independent environmental legal experts have found that Ramsar Site managers in Africa and North America reported that designation has helped maintain the conservation status of these wetlands, with a common view that the designation of a site as a Wetland of International Importance was more than a mere honor; the status offered tangible benefits. Such benefits of designation often include: Increased public awareness; Increased participation by local stakeholders; Greater support for protection of the site; Increased access to conservation funding; and Enhanced opportunities for research and ecotourism.

Dwight Peck RAMSARs Liquid Assets 40 Years of the Convention on Wetlands http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/Ramsar40_booklet/Ramsar_LiquidAssets_E.pdf

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