It currently has Contracting Parties, or member states. According to the Convention, wetlands include almost any habitat where water is key to the environment and its wildlife. It can be natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, and with water that is static, flowing, fresh, brackish or salt. Anywhere from estuaries, lakes and rivers to underground aquifers, mangroves, coral reefs and rice paddies count.
But big decisions are made at the triennial conference of the member states, during which government representatives discuss progress and make plans; the 13th conference takes place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in In addition each member state designates a government body to be responsible for implementing the Convention at the national level. In some countries, the responsible government agencies lack the necessary knowledge and expertise or the financial resources.
Sometimes extreme conditions such as disasters or war interrupt years of hard work. To address wetland loss, there should be more attention paid to the underlying causes, but this can raise questions about the effectiveness and integrity of governance in individual countries, sensitive issues that are often avoided. This can lead to scepticism about yet another country signing the convention, or yet another Ramsar site that is designated.
It raises doubt about the relevance of the convention. The biggest challenge in achieving better policies and management for wetlands is not formulating the policies and management plans themselves. Uganda, for example, was one of the first countries in Africa to develop policies and legislation for sustainable wetland management. But the small department that is responsible for enforcing the rules competes with powerful opponents in other sectors of government and in the private sector.
Wetland departments typically face a lack of awareness about the importance of wetlands and sometimes struggle with resistance or even corruption.
Even in countries where the protection of water and biodiversity seemed securely anchored in federal legislation, things can change. In the United States, scientists are now involved in lawsuits to prevent the government from lifting restrictions on development and exploitation of protected areas. Despite some of these doubts, research shows that countries that take the international agreements seriously, show better performance in wetland protection.
Perhaps the effects are not immediately visible, but good governance pays off. An article in Nature showed that the waterbird populations improved in countries with more effective governance and protected areas. An international agreement like the Ramsar Convention is important for supporting environmental policy development and stimulates countries to do better in this respect. Ramsar is also a good international forum for compiling and sharing knowledge about sustainable wetland management.
Thus, even though progress is sometimes slow and at times it may feel like "muddling along", an international agreement that keeps countries on task remains important and relevant, for the benefit of wetlands and people. Under the auspices of the chair, several research and capacity development activities have been initiated, including contributions to " The Wetland Book " published by Springer in Another recent publication by the Aquatic Ecosystems Group includes work on a global model for wetland ecosystem services.
German Democratic Republic. Hong Kong. Lao People's Democratic Republic. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. New Zealand. Papua New Guinea. Republic of Korea. Republic of Moldova. Sao Tome and Principe. Sierra Leone. South Africa. South Sudan. Sri Lanka.
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