16 March

• Ramsar Senior Regional Advisor for Asia/Oceania reports on the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in Japan
  Winter flooded rice paddies at Kabukuri-numa Ramsar siteJapan joined the Ramsar Convention in 1980 and has since listed 37 Ramsar sites across the country, covering a range of wetland types from marshes to lakes, streams, rice paddies, mangrove forests and tidal-flats. In the late 1980s, the GOJ proposed a number of projects that involved the reclamation of tidal flats for urban and port development, as well as for agriculture.
  More information: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-news-archives-2010-ramsarconventionjapan/main/ramsar/1-26-45-437%5E24483_4000_0__

• Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Doha, 15 March 2010
  More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2010/sp-2010-03-15-cites-en.pdf

11 March

• Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of Africa Environment Day, 3 March 2010, Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
  More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2010/sp-2010-03-03-tanzania-en.pdf

10 March

• Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf on the occasion of Latin American and Caribbean Indigenous and Local Community Capacity-building Workshop on the Convention on Biological Diversity, Including Issues Relevant to Article 8(j), TK and ABS: Mesoamerican Region, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 4 - 6 March 2010
  The workshop aims specifically at strengthening the knowledge of representatives of indigenous and local communities, particularly women, and providing expertise on the Convention on Biological Diversity and thus achieving their full and effective participation in the process leading to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to be held in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010.
  We are now at a crucial point in the life of the Convention as it addresses two very important issues for indigenous peoples: 1) the negotiation of an international regime on access and benefit-sharing, and 2) the work plan of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention.
  More information: http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2010/sp-2010-03-04-tk-en.pdf

• Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises Suffer Dramatic Declines from By-catch in Fishing Nets
  Toothed whales are currently suffering from a major threat which is unsustainable loss from by-catch in fishery operations. For 86% of all toothed whale species, entanglement and death in gillnets, traps, weirs, purse seines, longlines and trawls poses a major risk. Lack of food and forced dietary shifts due to overfishing pose additional threats to 13 species. These are among the findings of a report launched today on the website of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS). A corresponding poster available online shows for the first time all toothed whale species sorted according to their conservation status as defined by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ™.
  More information: http://www.cms.int/news/PRESS/nwPR2010/02_feb/cetaceans_fisheries.pdf

• UN Wildlife Conference Enhances Intergovernmental Cooperation to Safeguard Sharks. Manila (Philiphinas)
  A new landmark agreement to counteract the alarming decline of sharks has been concluded today under the auspices of the UNEP administered Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Government representatives meeting in Manila, Philippines, agreed on the text of a Memorandum of Understanding on the conservation of migratory sharks. At the meeting, delegates agreed to include all seven shark species in the CMS appendices under this agreement: the Great White, Basking, Whale, Porbeagle, Spiny Dogfish, Shortfin and Longfin Mako Sharks. They are to benefit from better international protection by fishing nations through reduction of threats, in particular illegal fishing and trade, by enforcing existing laws.
  More information: http://www.cms.int/news/PRESS/nwPR2010/02_feb/
  CMS_press_release_global_agreement_sharks.pdf

• Urgent measures can save long-distance migratory birds from extinction
  Long distant migrants are especially vulnerable to human-induced threats. Despite existing considerable knowledge gaps, some species might disappear in the near future unless urgent action is taken. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper and the Chinese Crested Tern are threatened with extinction. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has classified them as Critically Endangered. With no more than 50 birds, the Chinese Crested Tern is one of the most threatened birds in Asia. The rediscovery of the Chinese Crested Tern’s breeding grounds on the Matsu Islands in the Taiwan Strait, of a bird which was thought already extinct in 2000, has been recognized as a highlight of ornithological history. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper has declined dramatically over the last 30 years to an estimated 150-450 pairs only.
  More information: http://www.cms.int/news/PRESS/nwPR2010/02_feb/
  CMS_Media_Advisory_threats_migratory_birds.pdf

• 4th Meeting of the Partners to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Songdo (Republic of Korea)
  On 23rd and 24th February 2010 the 4th MOP of the EAAFP took place in Songdo, Republic of Korea. The Meeting was attended by 16 of the Partnership’s 21 members, ranging from Governments to IGOs and NGOs. Within the reporting period from the close of the 3rd MOP in November 2008 to January 2010 a new Secretariat was established as of 1st July 2009 in Songdo, Incheon City, with funding provided by the Incheon City Government under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Partnership and the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea...
  More information: http://www.cms.int/news/PRESS/nwPR2010/03_mar/
  eaafp_mop4.pdf?DocumentID=612&ArticleID=6477&l=en&t=long

• Convention on Migratory Species - Black-faced Spoonbill numbers up again as Action Plans are launched
  BirdLife International has compiled International Action Plans for three globally Endangered and Critically Endangered migratory waterbirds in Asia, under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species. The action plans for Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus and Chinese Crested Tern Sterna bernsteini were launched recently at the fourth meeting of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP). On 5th March, the action plan for Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor was launched at the International Symposium on Ecology, Migratory and Conservation of the Black-faced Spoonbill.
  More information: http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2010/03/new_action_plans.html

9 March

• First Meeting of the Caribbean Wetlands Initiative in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 3 to 7 February 2010
  The opening was made by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Dominican Republic, Mr Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, who reaffirmed his commitment to support the Ramsar Convention in order to achieve the protection of wetlands. He stated that wetlands are highly important at country level and worldwide. During this meeting, the Contracting Parties of the Caribbean as well as representatives of international organizations and NGO´s worked on prioritizing the activities and on the establishment of a governance structure for the Initiative. They also prepared the work and financial plan for the triennium 2010-2012, according to the request made by the Standing Committee 40.
  More information: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-news-archives-2010-caribbeanwetlands/main/ramsar/1-26-45-437%5E24469_4000_0__

• Protecting biodiversity in the International Year of Biodiversity
  Life comes in an almost unending variety of shapes and sizes, and we all depend on this biodiversity for our food, health and security. We share the planet with as many as 13 million different living species, many of which are as yet undiscovered. Even for those we are aware of, we often don’t understand their full potential or the complex systems they support.
  More information: http://www.cabi.org/default.aspx?site=170&page=1729

8 March

• Ramsar signs MOU with the Organization of American States (OAS)
  Secretary General Anada Tiéga and Mr Cletus Springer, Director, Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the GS/OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development at the OAS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, on 17 February. The purpose of the agreement is to establish a framework for collaboration to further common goals, including sharing data, knowledge and information relevant to biodiversity conservation of wetlands and sustainable management within the Americas. It also includes the development and execution of joint projects related to Ramsar Strategic Plan and the DSD mandates, such as the proposed UNEP implemented, DSD executed, GEF funded project entitled “Valuation of Ecosystem Services,” which is part of the Ramsar Regional Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of High Andean Wetlands.
  More information: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-news-archives-2010-oasnewmou/main/ramsar/1-26-45-437%5E24467_4000_0__

• Ramsar signs MoU with the Stetson University College of Law. Florida (USA)
  Ramsar signs MoU with the Stetson University College of Law (Florida, United States). Secretary General Anada Tiéga and the Dean and University Vice President of Stetson, Darby Dickerson, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 18 February. The main objective of the MoU is to develop a collaborative law and policy programme for sustainable wetland and water resource conservation and management by increasing current consultation and cooperation. Common areas for joint conservation activities are conducting research related to wetland law and policy, collaboration with Ramsar regional initiatives, under the framework of Ramsar Strategic Plan 2009-2015.
  More information: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-news-latest-moustetson/main/ramsar/1-26-76%5E24464_4000_0__

• Joint Cuba/Iran Ramsar sites stamp
  Over the years a number of countries around the world have issued postage stamps featuring the Ramsar Convention and Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). Here is the latest, jointly issued in 2008 by Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in commemoration of a collaboration mission. The stamp features a Ramsar site in each country, with the Ramsar Convention logo and the two countries’ national flags as the centre-piece. Featured are the Cienaga de Zapata Ramsar site in Cuba and the Anzali wetlands Ramsar site in Iran. The Iranian version of the stamp has the same images but with different wording.
  More information: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-news-archives-2010-stamp-cuba-iran/main/ramsar/1-26-45-437%5E24453_4000_0__

5 March

• Overview of the Ramsar Convention and World Wetlands Day and their relations with Botswana
  WWD in Botswana. In the context of the international symposium “Wetlands in a Flood Pulsing Environment: Effects on and responses in biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and human society”, held 1-5 February 2010 in Maun, Botswana and reported elsewhere, long-time Ramsar STRP member Prof. Max Finlayson, Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University in Australia, presented an overview of the Ramsar Convention and World Wetlands Day and their relations with Botswana.
  More information: http://ramsar.rgis.ch/pdf/wwd/10/wwd2010_rpts_botswana_finlayson.pdf