The Ramsar Library

Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention

Edited by A. J. Hails (Ramsar, 1996 [1997])

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Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention: the role of the Convention on Wetlands in the Conservation and Wise Use of Biodiversity

edited by A. J. Hails

Ramsar Convention Bureau
Ministry of Environment and Forest, India
1996 [1997]

Published by the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Gland, Switzerland, with the support of:

• the General Directorate of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of the Walloon Region, Belgium
• the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark
• the National Forest and Nature Agency, Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Denmark
• the Ministry of Environment and Forests, India
• the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Sweden

Copyright © Ramsar Convention Bureau, 1997.

Reproduction of this publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior perinission from the copyright holder, providing that full acknowledgement is given.

Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

The views of the authors expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect those of the Ramsar Convention Bureau or of the Ministry of the Environment of India.

Note: the designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Ranasar Convention Bureau concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Citation: Halls, A.J. (ed.), 1997. Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention: The Role of the Convention on Wetlands in the Conservation and Wise Use of Biodiversity. Ramsar Convention Bureau, Gland, Switzerland.

ISBN 2-940073-22-8

Design: Centre for Environment Education, Amnedabad, India

Cover photographs, clockwise from left to right: Lake Gregory, Australia. Photo: Stuart A. Halse Fishing community at Lake George, Uganda. Photo: Paul Mafabi White-faced Tree Ducks at Djoudj National Bird Park, Senegal. Photo: Seydina Issa Sylla

Printed by : Swift Press Pvt. Ltd. Ahmedabad

Available from: Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22,999,0169, e-mail: ramsar@hq.iucn.org or IUCN Publications Services Unit, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 ODL, United Kingdom, Fax: +44 (1)223 277175, e-mail: books@iucn.org.

Foreword

Wetlands are among the most productive life-support systems in the world and are of immense socio-economic and ecological importance to mankind. They are critical for the maintenance of biodiversity and perform a great role in the biosphere. Ironically, wetlands have been perceived as wastelands associated with disease, difficulty and danger. Emphasizing the negative impacts and ignoring their importance, these habitats were considered obstacles in the path of progress and hence drained, filled, despoiled and degraded for economic gains. The wetland loss has been responsible for bringing to the verge of extinction countless species of animals and plants. Inadequate understanding of the crucial role and utility of wetlands is a matter of serious concern.

Recognizing the importance of wetland resources, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, 1971) has been instrumental in world wide action at the governmental level for conservation and wise use of wetlands. In its first 25 years, the Ramsar Convention has played an important role in promoting awareness of wetlands and providing technical support to governments for conservation and management of these ecosystems on a sound ecological basis. By implementing the Strategic Plan recently adopted by the 6th Conference of Contracting Parties, the Ramsar Convention's work will become more closely related to the broader concerns of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

I am happy to note that the RamsarConvention towards its 25 year celebration has brought out this publication on Wetland Biodiversity. The publication covers a wide range of issues relating to the status, diversity, conservation issues, policies and management aspects related to wetland biodiversity for all the seven regions of the world as identified by the Ramsar Convention. The overview of wetland biodiversity followed by some case studies from each of these regions and the role of the Ramsar Convention to promote conservation of wetlands are highlighted in the publication.

I hope that the publication would be useful to conservationists, policy planners, researchers and other interested groups.

Captain Jai Narain Prasad Nishad
Minister, Environment and Forests, India

Acknowledgements

This publication could not have come to its successful conclusion without the assistance, both technical and logistical, of many individuals. Initial contacts with case study authors were aided by Roger Jaensch, Ilona Lodzina, and James McCuaig. Particular thanks are extended to Pablo Canevari, Pam Cromarty, Joanna Ellison, Wendy Evans, Max Finlayson, Stuart Halse, Roger Jaensch, Magnus Ngoile, Janet Owen, and Allan Smith for their time and expertise in reviewing various sections of the text.

Ramsar's Secretary General, Delmar Blasco, ably led the Bureau staff in their supportive role throughout the preparation ofthe text and, in particular, thanks are due to the Bureau's Technical Officers, Montserrat Carbonell, Tim Jones, Tom Kabii, and Satoshi Kobayashi, and the Bureau's Senior Policy Advisor, Mike Smart, for their technical help and advice. Thanks are also due to Dwight Peck who prepared the maps and gave invaluable assistance with the production of the text, Valerie Higgins who helped in the final preparation of the text, and Mireille Katz who gave constant support and encouragement throughout the project. Many other people have helped in various small but significant ways and I am indebted to them all.

The Ramsar Bureau extends its thanks to the many individuals who willingly provided photographic material for the publication and to Dr. C. L. Trisal, Ministry of the Environment and Forests, India, who gave considerable assistance in the production of the book.

Sandra Hails

Editor's Note

Nomenclature

Since birds are both conspicuous and well studied components of wetland animal communities they are frequently mentioned in the chapters which follow. As a consequence it was decided to standardise the scientific names of the species, avoiding some of the regional variations which would otherwise have arisen. We used as our standard text:

Sibley, Charles G. and Monroe Jr, Burt L. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven & London.

To preserve the regional character of the chapters, we left the common names of birds as they were defined by the authors; this has produced some inconsistencies between chapters. We encouraged authors to include common names of both animals and plants wherever possible but since the latter are less frequently used by botanists, they do not always accompany the scientific names of the plants.

Conservation Status

Many authors made reference to the number of threatened or endangered animal species recorded in the large number of wetlands referred to in this publication. Since this was variable, reflecting local, national or regional levels of threat, we attempted to make the statements more clear and furthermore to highlight the number of wetland animal species which are considered globally threatened. Thus we have indicated within the text those species which appear in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The full reference for this publication is:

Groombridge, B. (ed.). 1993. 1994 Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.

In the European chapter we deviated slightly from this system by identifying those birds species which were considered of Global Conservation Concern or which had an Unfavourable Conservation Status in Europe in BirdLife International's 1994 assessment of birds in Europe, i.e. those that were included in Categories 1-3. The full reference for this publication is:

Tucker, G.M. and Heath, M.F. 1994. Birds in Europe: their Conservation Status. Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International (BirdLife Conservation Series No.3).

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

WETLANDS AND BIODIVERSITY

By Peter R. Bacon, Department of Zoology, University of the West Indies, Trinidad

Introduction

The combination of aquatic and terrestrial conditions that produce what we describe as 'wet-lands' makes these ecosystems among the most complex in the world. Within a wetland, the environmental characteristics are determined largely by hydrologic processes which may exhibit daily, seasonal or longer-term fluctuations, in relation to regional climate and geographic location of the site. These factors produce a great range of wetland types globally, the majority of which have extremely variable conditions in the many habitats which they contain (Table 1). As a consequence, the variety of living organisms which has adapted to the different wetland habitats tends to be high, with all major groups of plants and animals present.

Table 1. Range of natural habitats within different temperate and tropical wetland ecosystems

1 Cowardin et al., 1992; 2 Bacon, 1988; 3 Swennen and Spaans, 1985

____________________________________________________________________

Box 1 documents the biodiversity of Nariva Swamp, Trinidad, exemplifying the variety of organisms occurring at just one site. The remainder of this chapter examines the factors responsible for the biodiversity of wetlands, such as Nariva Swamp, and the components of such biodiversity. By reference to several tropical and temperate sites, it considers some of the ecological and economic implications of loss of this biodiversity and concludes by discussing why the protection of wetland biodiversity is of both national and international importance.

Diversity and Productivity of Wetland Plants

A variety of topographic gradients exist in wetlands and these influence the nature of the colonising vegetation. Gradients exist between terrestrial uplands and flooded basins, lakes or river beds. In coastal situations they occur in relation to tidal fluctuations which produce great habitat variability on the shoreline (e.g. Table 1), as they do across lagoons and the zones of nearshore coral reefs. Wetland vegetation may respond to the topography and hydrology with a distinct zonation pattern formed by the dominant plant species, particularly in tidal situations, or produce a complex mosaic of plant communities around minor local variations in height.

Zonation patter in a coastal wetlands, Carriacou: from land in foreground through salina, black mangrove, red mangrove and tidal channel to the open sea. (Photo: Peter Bacon)  

Further variability is introduced to inland wetlands by seasonal fluctuations in the rainfall or inundation pattern. The area covered by a wetland may expand and contract with the seasons and thus produce a border of plant communities adapted to alternate flooded and dry conditions. The 'varzea' wetlands of the Amazon floodplain, for example, extend for hundreds of kilometres and show a distinct change in the degree of adaptation of the plant species as one goes from the permanent river channel to the upland terra firma. In temperate wetlands, spring flood and summer drawdown introduce a similar variability in terms of the nature and availability of plant habitats. As a result, wetlands support diverse plant communities, particularly the inland wetlands associated with major drainage systems in both tropical and temperate regions. The US National List of plant species that occur in wetlands compiled by Reed (1988) included 6,728 species. This diversity is reflected at individual sites, such as the 243km2 Cache River-Cypress Creek wetland, a Ramsar site in Illinois, USA, where 138 woody plants, 251 non-woody vascular (flowering) plants and 11 ferns were present (USFWS, 1994). However, under more extreme conditions, such as the arctic Tundra, high mountain peat bogs and hypersaline saltmarshes in the dry tropics, the diversity is lower, even though a range of highly specialized plants will be present.

Many wetland plants, or hydrophytes, grow in dense and prolific stands. For example, in Papyrus Cyperus papyrus swamps in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, Jones (1983) reported a harvestable standing crop of 30 tonnes per hectare compared with only 10 tonnes per hectare of grass from the finest European pastures. After harvest, this amount of Papyrus biomass was replaced in about nine months. Table 2 shows that many other types of wetlands are highly productive. The ready availability of water, which transports nutrients and removes waste products, and the frequent association between plant roots and microscopic organisms able to use nitrogen, allow wetland plants to grow rapidly and produce large quantities of organic matter. In tropical wetland plants, such as mangroves, this primary production can go on all year and reach levels comparable to the most intensively mechanised agricultural production, for example sugar cane crops. Plants play a critical role in the structure and productivity of coral reefs in nearshore wetland environments. In many areas, the reefs can be described as 'cor-algal' reefs because of the close association between the corals (animals) and species of algae (plants). Other algae living in the coral tissues aid in the production of organic matter and are largely responsible, thus, for the high productivity of the reefs.

An aerial view of seasonal drawdown zone on a lake margin. (Photo: Peter Bacon)

Diversity of Animals in Wetlands

The species diversity and high production levels of wetland plants support even more diverse animal communities. The vegetation distribution patterns and water level fluctuations make a range of continuously changing wetland habitats available at different times of the year to aquatic, terrestrial and arboreal animals. Wetlands support a wide variety of grazing and browsing animals, including several large mammals such as African Buffalo Syncerus caffer and Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius in Africa, Capybara Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris and manatee Trichecus spp. in the Neotropics, Asian Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis in Asia and Moose Alces alces in North America and Eurasia. Many species of rodent, such as the beaver Castor spp., Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus and Nutria Myocastor coypus in North America and Europe also depend on wetlands. A number of invertebrates, particularly snails and crustaceans, and some fish, such as Grass Carp Ctenopharygodon idella, graze on water plants and convert these to animal biomass, in some cases impoverishing wetland vegetation. Herbivorous diets are often generalized, but some South American fish feed exclusively on fruits from swamp forest trees and, thus, aid in seed dispersal. On coral reefs, a variety of green, red and brown seaweeds provides food for a great diversity of invertebrates and fish. Some of these, such as damselfish (Pomacentridae), behave like gardeners by protecting and trimming the plants that they hide among and feed upon. The range of plant species in the different wetlands, and their flowers, fruits and seeds, ensures a rich diversity of associated animals.

However, much of the vegetable material produced by wetland plants does not enter food chains directly. In mangrove swamps, for example, only about 10% of leaf production is grazed by snails, crabs and insects, with the remaining 90% falling into the water where it decomposes. Decomposition is brought about initially by microbes, largely marine bacteria and fungi, which break up the leaves and other plant parts. Microbes not only reduce the vegetable matter to smaller and smaller particles of detritus, but they increase the protein content by their presence and make the particles increasingly attractive to a wide variety of aquatic invertebrates. Similar processes occur in other types of wetlands, particularly many inland and tidal types in which decaying plant materials tend to accumulate before they can be consumed. The litterfall of dead leaves, flowers, fruits and twigs may be up to 17 tonnes per hectare per year in riverine and estuarine wetlands (Lugo et al., 1990). The result of such litterfall is the production of a complex detritus-based food web which supports a great diversity of invertebrates, fish and amphibians, with fishes, frogs and toads being characteristically associated with wetlands. Larger predatory reptiles, birds and some mammals feed on the abundant food resources supported by decomposing plant parts. Characteristic wetland predators include crocodilians, freshwater turtles, the Anaconda Eunectes murinus, otters, dolphins and waterbirds. Wetlands of the Ebro Delta in Spain support 48 resident species of fish, 29 species of amphibians and reptiles, 27 mammals and 46 resident or migratory birds (MAPA, 1991) and this important Ramsar site forms one of the European case studies.

Many different kinds of birds with a wide range of feeding and breeding habits are found in wetlands. Among the 104 species recorded in the Black River Morass, Jamaica, were 11 seabirds, 36 waterfowl, 7 birds of prey, a kingfisher and 49 forest birds (Bacon, 1987); while 251 species have been found in the Cache River Basin, Illinois, USA (USFWS, 1994). According to Weigers (1990) some 40 species of birds commonly breed in the somewhat restricted wetland forests in Western Europe. In the case study of the St. Lucia estuarine system of South Africa (a Ramsar site), some 350 species of birds are reported, including 90 species of waterfowl, such as ducks, geese, two species of flamingo and 15 species of herons and egrets.

An aquatic algal-invertebrate community on a mangrove root, Jamaica (Photo: Peter Bacon)

Many wetlands have such abundant food resources (both living plants and their decomposition products) that they can be utilized by species other than the permanent residents. Entry by 'visitor species' serves to increase further the diversity of animals that may be seen in wetlands from time to time. The life cycles of many species of marine shrimps include a period spent feeding in coastal estuaries or marshes. Several marine fish spawn in mangrove swamps or use these habitats as a nursery for their young because of the ready availability of small food materials and the security provided by mangrove roots. In addition, mangrove swamps are used for nursery and feeding by a range of coral reef-inhabiting species, while the reefs provide sheltered conditions along the coast which encourage mangrove establishment; this suggests that these associated wetland types are mutually supportive.

Migration into wetlands to benefit from food or favourable habitat conditions does not occur only in aquatic species, such as shrimp and fish. Many freshwater environments show seasonal fluctuations in water level which influence grazing and other feeding behaviour. Seasonal drawdown in water level permits the movement of animals, including livestock and their herders, into wetland basins, where they utilize the abundant, lush plant resources. In the Nariva Swamp, Red Brocket Deer Mazama americana, Collared Peccary Tayassu tajacu and Agouti Dasyprocta aguti and smaller rodents migrate from the swamp margins and interior islands during the dry season and occupy habitats populated by aquatic species at other times. In effect, any area of the swamp basin will support two different faunas at different times of year, thus increasing the diversity of animals which can be supported by one set of resources. Movement of herders into wetlands as flood waters retreat and fresh grazing areas become available, is discussed in the case study of the sebkhas of North Africa in a later chapter.

Many wetlands provide habitat for other important faunal components, serving as resting and feeding stations along migratory flyways for ducks, waders and shorebirds which benefit from the diversity of food organisms. The seasonal influx of passage migrants serves to increase the biodiversity of many wetland sites. In their study of coastal wetland habitats in Surinam, South America, Swennen and Spaans (1985) found more than 75% of the foraging waterfowl were migrants of northern origin, with only a minority being local resident species. For the eight families studied in an area of just 736ha of these rich and varied coastal wetlands they found 15,678 waterfowl belonging to 40 species dependent on the wetlands during the tropical part of their life cycle. This example shows that the migratory component of the bird life of wetlands is important, not only in terms of species diversity but in numbers of individuals. Similarly, the 24,000ha Cache River Basin in North America provided wintering habitat annually for nearly 200,000 Canada Geese Branta canadensis, 35,000 Snow Geese Anser caerulescens and 26,000 ducks which would breed further north (USFWS, 1994). The value of wetlands as habitat for migratory birds is documented many times in the regional case studies.

Wetlands support a variety of waterbirds - pelicans and sandpipers at Banc d'Arguin National Park, Mauritania. (Photo: J. Trotignon, Ramsar Library)

The Economic Value of Wetland Biodiversity

Wetland plants are a major source of materials on which large numbers of people depend, particularly in the subsistence economies of tropical countries. In addition to the variety of goods produced (Table 3), the quantities exploited are impressive. Mangrove trees annually produce 7,400m3 of charcoal and 400 tonnes of bark for tanning in Panama and 120,000m3 of firewood in Honduras, while 80% of households in Nicaragua use mangrove wood for cooking (Lacerda, 1993).

Throughout the world, wetlands produce a range of animals of commercial importance, particularly as food, skins and for sport and the ecotourism business. Thus, inland wetlands in Africa produce over 1.5 million tonnes of fish annually, with a further 1.0 million tonnes from coastal marine areas. At least one million fishermen and perhaps five million workers in processing, transportation and market activities depend on these fisheries (Bernacsek, 1992). Twenty percent of commercial fish in Australia are caught in mangrove swamps; 45% were strictly dependent on mangrove resources, while 35% of mangrove dwelling species were food for commercial marine species (Robertson and Duke, 1987).

Table 3. Economic uses of tropical wetland plants (not in order of importance)

World trade in crocodilians from tropical and sub-tropical wetlands peaked in the 1960s at over 10 million skins per year, declining to a present volume of 1.5 million. In Venezuela alone the harvest of caiman skins and meat was valued at US$9.0 million in 1989 (Thorbjarnarson, 1991). The major part of bird hunting in all parts of the world is based on wetland habitats, with significant numbers taken in some areas (Table 4). Of the millions of fish, waterfowl and mammals hunted in North America, all the fish and more than 50% of other groups come from wetlands. In the Caribbean, parks and protected areas containing wetlands have functioned as major tourist attractions for many years, particularly for their bird life. They include the Caroni Swamp, Trinidad, the Flamingo Sanctuary, Bonaire, the Lagoons of Humacao, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands National Park, which includes extensive shorebird and coral reef habitat. Annual recreational values of Caroni Swamp and the Virgin Islands National Park have been valued at US$1.0 and US$23.4 million respectively (Bacon, 1987). The major part of the foreign exchange earnings of the Turks & Caicos Islands comes from tourism based on coral reef diving. The large sport hunting industry and the rapidly expanding ecotourism sector have a multiplier effect on the economy through expenditure on transport, food, camping gear, hunting and fishing gear, license fees, photographic supplies, visitor facilities and related goods and services. Wetland faunas are, thus, of major economic importance globally.

Crocodilians play an important ecological role in wetlands: their meat and skins are of commercial value as well. (Photo: Peter Bacon)

(After Parish and Howes, 1990)

Not all wetlands produce all types of resources, of course, but most will produce a wide variety, particularly larger sites like the Pantanal of Brazil, the Florida Everglades, the Kafue Flats in Zambia and the 6,000km2 Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India which are the subject of a case study. The economic value of many wetlands is decreased by the presence of noxious animals, particularly mosquitoes, sandflies and midges, some of which act as vectors of disease. There can be a tremendous diversity and abundance of these insects: some 84 mosquito, 13 sandfly and 21 horsefly species are reported from the freshwater Nariva Swamp, Trinidad (Bacon et al., 1979), while 183,000 individual mosquitoes of a single species were caught in a light trap one night in a Cayman Islands mangrove swamp (Brunt and Davies, 1994). However, their nuisance potential must not be allowed to serve as an excuse to destroy their important role as links in aquatic, and to a lesser extent terrestrial food webs, particularly their larvae which are eaten by commercially important fish.

Links Between Wetlands and Other Habitats

In addition to direct economic values, through the provision of a range of goods and services, wetlands are of great indirect value through linkages with associated aquatic ecosystems. As indicated above, many species use wetlands for nursery purposes. In addition, the transfer of organic matter and biota by downstream flow or tidal export influences nutrient status and food webs outside the wetland itself. In Australia, Banana Prawns Penaeus merguiensis require mangrove-lined estuaries if they are to complete their life cycles (Robertson and Duke, 1987); in Colombia, the Cienaga Grande lagoon is thought to be responsible for rearing 70% of the fish harvested on the Caribbean coast (Bossi and Cintron, 1990); the organic matter and nursery environment of the Laguna de Terminos, Mexico, support a coastal fishery producing annually 15,000 tonnes of shrimp, 13,000 tonnes of shellfish and 122,000 tonnes of fish (Yañez-Arancibia et al., 1992). Mention has been made above of migratory waterfowl utilization of wetlands as staging posts, an example of a wetland in one country supporting the biodiversity and commercial harvest of resources in another, often in a different biome in a distant country. In Jamaica, the close association between mangroves and coral reefs, in terms of exchanges of nutrients and biota between the two wetland types, suggests that the presence of mangroves greatly influences the health and productivity of the reefs which are the mainstay of the artisanal fishing industry.

The Consequences of Loss of Wetland Biodiversity

It is obvious from the large number of resource organisms mentioned earlier, that loss of wetland species has economic implications. The livelihood and culture of large numbers of people, in almost every country of the world, will be endangered if wetland resources become further depleted. A major portion of fisheries production, most hunting, much forest production and a significant part of ecotourism will be lost worldwide, as well as elements of heritage and environmental quality. It is important to stress, however, that it is not sufficient just to protect the populations of plants and animals that are directly exploited: their health and survival, or sustainability, depend on maintaining the whole complex of biodiversity that characterizes wetland ecosystems.

Commercially exploitable wetland plant and animal species will be available only if the biological processes which produce them are maintained. These include primary production, nutrient cycling, pollination, flowering, fruiting, decomposition, food web interactions, grazing, predation, immigration and emigration, to name a few. Hundreds of inter-related organisms take part in this gamut of processes and it is this diversity of wetland species which keeps these ecosystems in ecological equilibrium and makes them so productive. Loss of any link in the web of biodiversity will reduce the goods, functions and attributes of a wetland site (see Box 2). Decline in a wetland will impact on associated systems: loss of nursery habitat could reduce coastal fishery yields or loss of a wetland on a flyway could disrupt waterfowl migrations, threatening the capacity of individual birds to reproduce and eventually the survival of populations or species.

Finally, the real biodiversity of nature lies at the level of the genotype (the hereditary or genetic make-up). The variability, geographic dispersion and biological richness of wetlands globally mean that they contain a tremendous pool of genetic resources. This genetic diversity is important for a variety of reasons: it determines the ability of individuals and populations to adapt to changing environmental conditions, such as global warming or new diseases; it is essential for the continuing evolution of various species; it provides the basis for the selection and production of new resource organisms. Finally, it is also important for maintaining the distinctiveness of plants and animals in different locations which has implications for our appreciation of nature. Loss of wetland habitats, which contain so much of the world's plant and animal biodiversity, thus endangers the genetic resources on which our future prosperity depends.

References

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• Anderson, F.O. 1976. Primary production in a shallow water lake with special reference to a reed swamp. Oikos, 27; 243-250.
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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to staff and associates of the Ramsar Bureau for comments on the text, to Scott Frazier (Ramsar/ Wetland Sites Officer) for providing some of the information presented here and to the University of the West Indies who supported field and library studies which produced the primary data for this chapter.

CHAPTER 2

THE RAMSAR CONVENTION:

Its role in conservation and wise use of wetland biodiversity

By Michael Smart, Senior Policy Advisor, Ramsar Bureau, Switzerland

Intergovernmental Conventions on the Environment

The last 25 years have seen a growing consciousness, among the general public and at the highest political level, of the importance of environmental issues. The initial motive was a concern, often articulated in the first instance by individuals in the richer countries, for nature conservation issues, a recognition that certain plants and animals, formerly common, were decreasing or disappearing. This has evolved in the last few years, with increasing input from developing countries - where many people depend for their livelihood on the productivity and the biodiversity of their environment - into the realization, most memorably expressed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, that a healthy environment is important not only for birds, bees and flowers, but also for human well-being, in short that a healthy environment is an essential part of socio-economic development.

As a result of the pioneering action of these individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) took up the environmental cause, and pressed governments for action. Governments then drew up legally binding conventions or treaties on environmental matters by which member states (or Contracting Parties) agree to take action in a specific environmental field. Thus the 1970s saw the creation of a number of conventions, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands being the first in 1971. The input of NGOs has always been essential in the development and implementation of international conventions and, in Ramsar's case, the role of BirdLife International (formerly ICBP), IUCN - the World Conservation Union, Wetlands International (formerly the Asian Wetland Bureau; the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau; and Wetlands for the Americas) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been crucial. In the last few years, the second generation of international legal instruments has come into being. These newer conventions, building on the pioneer work of their predecessors, take a more holistic view of environmental issues. In an era convinced of the importance of market forces, they have mechanisms for financial support.

The opening chapter of this volume has presented the diversity and productivity of wetlands. The present chapter demonstrates how the Ramsar Convention or Convention on Wetlands contributes to conservation and wise use of wetland biodiversity, the direction Ramsar plans to take in the future and Ramsar's links with other environmental conventions, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Ramsar - the Convention on Wetlands

Introduction: The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat was adopted at Ramsar, a city on the Iranian shores of the Caspian in 1971. The Convention was astonishingly far-sighted for its time, recognizing several important principles which are now widely accepted: the interdependence of Man and his environment; the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands as regulators of water regimes; and the value of wetlands in economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational terms. This concern with the functioning of wetlands, and how it affects mankind and his cultural and economic well-being, has become more and more relevant over the first 25 years of Ramsar and will undoubtedly be a major issue for the 21st century, when water supply will become even more crucial.

Although the Convention's original focus was on wetlands as a habitat for waterfowl, Ramsar has developed into an international instrument dealing with wetlands from a broader point of view. Ramsar remains the only international convention that concentrates on a particular type of ecosystem - wetlands - rather than on species or other issues. Such an approach is natural, given the widely held view that wetlands and forests are two of the most threatened ecosystems in world terms.

Ramsar establishes, for the first time in an international convention, two basic concepts:

The List of Wetlands of International Importance: a list of important sites proposed by member governments, who formally accept an obligation to maintain the ecological character of these sites.

The principle of wise use of all the wetlands in the territory of a Contracting Party. Wise use of wetlands is considered as synonymous with sustainable use, a term which has recently gained general currency.

Like any other convention, Ramsar is a living, evolving instrument. The emphasis in the early years was on listed sites, the flagship concept which attracted immediate attention and publicity. In recent years, the broader concept of wise use has become increasingly important, with the growing realization that listed sites cannot be conserved in a vacuum but are affected by decisions taken outside their boundaries; the crucial need is to integrate conservation and wise use of wetlands into national land use and water management strategies. While the Ramsar text sets out basic concepts, guidance is needed on how to put them into practice and how to adapt them to changing world perceptions. In its first 25 years, Ramsar member states have, at their Conference of the Parties (normally held every three years), approved numerous interpretations of the text and mechanisms to make sure that the basic concepts of the Convention are effectively applied.

Definition of wetlands: An important feature of Ramsar is its approach to the once unfamiliar term 'wetlands'. The definition of wetlands in the first article of the Convention, one of the broadest possible, has been widely accepted:

'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.'

This definition encompasses coastal and shallow marine areas (including coral reefs), as well as river courses and temporary lakes or depressions in semi-arid zones.

Benefits and values of wetlands: The Ramsar 'Guidelines on wise use' provide a succinct account, for both decision-makers and the general public, of the benefits and values of wetlands which may be felt within the wetland itself or some way away from it (for example in the case of wetlands which absorb floods). The Guidelines summarize the benefits as follows:

• sediment and erosion control;
• flood control;
• maintenance of water quality and abatement of pollution;
• maintenance of surface and underground water supply;
• support for fisheries, grazing and agriculture;
• outdoor recreation and education for human society;
• provision of habitat for wildlife, especially waterfowl;
• contribution to climatic stability.

If the natural functions of wetlands are maintained, these benefits will accrue to human populations free of charge. Destruction of wetlands means either that these functions have to be provided artificially at considerable cost, or that the wetland has to be restored, which costs even more.

Listed sites: The best-known obligation of Ramsar member states is to include at least one wetland from their territory (which may be state or privately owned areas) in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. Wetlands on the List are often called 'Ramsar sites', an expression frequently used in this book. This is the traditional protected areas approach to conservation, elevated to an international level. Such sites are not merely a national park or reserve; governments accept an undertaking before the world community to maintain the ecological character of Ramsar sites thus making a direct contribution to the conservation of wetland biodiversity. As of 12 July 1996, the 93 Contracting Parties had designated 838 wetlands for the Ramsar List, covering an area of some 540,000km2, i.e. roughly the size of France or Kenya. [As of September 2004: 141 Parties and 1375 sites]

The Convention has established a number of measures to guide member states in carrying out this obligation to list and conserve wetlands of international importance. Among them are:

The Criteria for Identifying Wetlands of International Importance, which identify sites that could be included in the List; actual designation for the Ramsar List remains the prerogative of each Contracting Party concerned. The various categories of criteria, which have been developed over the years and are still evolving, cover: representative or unique wetland ecosystems; wetlands of value because of the diversity of their plant or animal life or because they support threatened or endemic species; and wetlands which are of particular value for waterfowl (high numbers of a range of species or 1% of the total numbers of one species, sub-species or population), or for fish.

These criteria have been used by Ramsar's NGO partner organizations to compile regional directories of potential Ramsar sites for Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, South and Central America and the Caribbean, and a regional inventory is in preparation for the Commonwealth of Independent States. Meanwhile many Contracting Parties (e.g. Australia, France, Italy) have used the criteria to draw up their own national scientific wetland inventories.

A simple, worldwide Classification System for Wetland Types which identifies 35 kinds of wetlands, together with a wetland datasheet, so that all the world's Ramsar sites can be classified and described in a standard fashion. These descriptions are stored in the Ramsar Database, which can be used to analyse widely differing wetlands across the world, and as a basis for advice to wetland managers, drawing on experience at comparable sites in other corners of the world.

The Montreux Record, which identifies Ramsar sites whose biodiversity is under particular pressure in the face of technological developments, pollution or other human interference. Inclusion on the Record is effected by member states, in consultation with the Ramsar Bureau (or secretariat), and highlights sites where urgent action is needed, possibly with the help of other member states. As of 12 July 1996, the Montreux Record included 65 Ramsar sites, an indication of the difficulty of maintaining the ecological character of wetlands. One UK site, on the Scottish island of Islay, was included on the Montreux Record because proposed reclamation and road building could have led to destruction of a considerable portion of the site; after extensive discussion and study, the plans were cancelled, and the site was removed from the Record. The Djoudj National Bird Park, a Ramsar site in Senegal noted for its high numbers and diversity of waterbirds, was included in the Montreux Record because of fears that water inflow would be restricted; the site was removed from the Record after arrangements had been made to guarantee quantity of water supply, but has since been reinserted because the quality of the water changed and the very fresh water has led to clogging of the wetland with floating weeds.

The Management Guidance Procedure (formerly known as the Monitoring Procedure) which enables the Ramsar Bureau to organize missions to visit Ramsar sites (particularly those on the Montreux Record) and to offer advice. The Procedure has been operated at more than 30 Ramsar sites and a number of notable successes in conservation of wetland biodiversity have been achieved: at the Nariva Swamp in Trinidad & Tobago, conflicts over use of parts of the area for agricultural production have been resolved, and a general management plan involving local communities is being carried out; in the March/Thaya valley in Austria, a plan for the wise use of the whole area has been approved and implemented; in South Africa, the Ramsar monitoring mission to St Lucia contributed to the national investigation into the effects of dune mining, which resulted in a government decision not to allow mining of rare metals in the Ramsar site, an activity which would have had a direct effect on the diversity of the flora and fauna.

Wise use of wetlands: In addition to its involvement in listed sites, Ramsar from the outset adopted the concept of wise use of wetlands. Ramsar defines this concept as follows:

'The wise use of wetlands is their sustainable utilization for the benefit of mankind in a way compatible with the maintenance of the natural properties of the ecosystem'.

Essentially, the wise use concept means that the natural productivity and biodiversity at a site can be utilized as long as the basic ecological functioning of the wetland is not disturbed. A fine example of the wise use of a wetland is the Sundarbans, a mangrove forest shared by India and Bangladesh, part of which has been designated as a Ramsar site. Many thousands of local people exploit the natural productivity of this wetland, harvesting mangrove trees, palm leaves, fish and other natural resources, yet the Sundarbans remains one of the richest wildlife areas in the world. Another example is the Wadden Sea, Europe's biggest estuary, which is located in a densely populated area and shared by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The entire estuary is a Ramsar site and the three states have developed a joint management concept, based on wise use; it aims at controlling hunting, oil exploration, fisheries (especially shellfish) and tourism, and reconciling them with nature conservation.

The Angélique Creek in the coastal marshes of Les Marais de Kaw, a Ramsar site in French Guiana.  This wetland meets several of the Criteria for Identifying Wetlands of International Importance being noted for its population of globally threatened Black Caiman, for the several hundred thousand migratory waterbirds which nest in North America and occur here during migration and wintering periods, and also for its populations of nesting herons, spoonbills, and ibises. (Photo: Olivier Tostain)

The wise use concept does not, however, relate only to actions at site level. The Convention has approved Guidelines on Implementation of the Wise Use Concept and Additional Guidance on Wise Use which encourage Ramsar members to adopt National Wetland Policies, thus recognizing the need for broad policy work on wetlands at the highest decision-making level. The adoption of National Wetland Policies demands a thorough review of a state's legislation, institutions and practices relating to wetlands and, although rather few states have adopted such policies at the present time, positive steps towards this goal are in evidence: Canada has adopted a Federal Wetland Policy, Uganda has recently adopted its national policy, while other states, notably Australia, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and several states of Africa and the Mediterranean, reported on their progress towards a National Wetland Policy at the Brisbane Conference in March 1996.

Finance for wetland work: Over the years Ramsar has generated funds for wetland conservation and wise use projects in developing countries and states whose economy is in transition. Such funds have been raised in two ways: by channelling bilateral assistance through the Ramsar Bureau, for example, the preparation of management plans for the Ramsar sites of Paracas in Peru and Caño Negro in Costa Rica, funded by the USA, or the development of a national wetland plan in Bulgaria, funded by France; and via the Small Grants Fund (formerly the Convention's Wetland Conservation Fund) which has supported 10 to 12 projects every year since 1991, each costing a maximum of 40,000 Swiss francs. Projects financed by the fund have included an inventory of Tunisian wetlands, training activities in Kenya and India, and management of listed wetlands in Brazil, Honduras, Indonesia, and Niger.

A stand of Nipah Palms lines a riverbank in the Sundarbans.  The leaves of this palm are used for thatching and are sustainably harvested here. (Photo: Zakir Hussain)

Ramsar - Future Directions

A mission statement for the Convention was adopted at Brisbane, thus providing a focus for the activities of the Convention from 1997-2002. It states that:

‘The Convention's mission is the conservation and wise use of wetlands by national action and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development throughout the world'.

A number of objectives and actions have been identified to help Ramsar achieve its mission in this period and some of the most important are highlighted below:

The Convention can only be fully effective if as many states as possible become Contracting Parties, so there will be a strong drive to recruit new Ramsar members, particularly in under-represented regions such as the Caribbean, the Near East, Southern Africa and the Pacific, with a goal of 120 members by 2002.

Since National Wetland Policies are fundamental to the aim of achieving wise use, emphasis will be placed on establishment of a larger number of National Wetland Policies.

Implementation of the Convention will focus on the role of wetlands in the context of land-use planning (especially in coastal zone planning and river basin management). Special attention will be given to the relationship between wetlands and water resource management. For many developing countries, water will be one of the scarcest and most valuable resources in the 21st century, yet wetland conservation and water supply, which are very closely related subjects, are often treated as totally unrelated sectors.

More precise ways of calculating the real economic values of wetland functions will be provided, greater attention will be paid to wetland restoration and rehabilitation, to empowerment of local communities in wetland management and to involvement of the private sector in wetland issues.

Another major task will be to build on the work of regional wetland inventories and individual wetland scientists, to provide a better overall definition of global wetland resources and hence the scope of the Convention's work: how much wetland is there in the world? how many Ramsar sites could and should there be? how much work is needed for management and restoration of wetlands?

As for Ramsar sites, attention will be paid both to quantity and quality. The aim is to reach 1,000 Ramsar sites by the year 2002, and to ensure that they are properly managed (50% should have management plans by then), and that their ecological character is maintained and monitored. In future greater emphasis will be placed on designating sites from certain wetland types hitherto given insufficient attention, notably peatlands, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs.

Greater public support for wetland conservation and wise use will be sought by more intensive efforts to raise awareness of wetland values and functions. A natural corollary of this approach will be to reinforce the capacity of institutions, especially in developing countries, through training programmes, and to ensure that development agencies, both multilateral and bilateral, take account of wetland values, a part of the task of raising awareness.

Ramsar receives many demands for funding of projects on conservation and wise use and an attempt will be made to increase the resources available to the Small Grants Fund to a million dollars a year. In addition, the Bureau will act as a catalyst, identifying funding sources for projects on conservation and wise use of wetlands, whether with bilateral or multilateral funding agencies, private sector sources, foundations or NGO bodies.

Ramsar and Other Environmental Conventions

In its first 25 years, Ramsar has made a considerable contribution to the conservation and wise use of biological diversity in wetlands. The role played so far has been largely in terms of promoting awareness of wetlands and providing technical support for governments. The fact that the word wetland has gained such currency is an indication of success in awareness campaigns. The designation of over 800 wetlands, covering 540,000km2 worldwide, for the Ramsar List, and the increasing efforts to conserve their ecological character, are other positive signs. The growing recognition of the importance of wetlands, in terms both of productivity and biological diversity, is shown by the interest in wetlands of organizations such as the Organization for Economic Development (OECD), and by the growing number of states which integrate wetlands into national policy-making through National Wetland Policies.

With the increasing number of environmental conventions now in existence, the watchwords must be partnership and coordination. Links of course already exist between Ramsar and other international environmental conventions. Some famed wetlands - Everglades in USA, Doñana in Spain, Keoladeo (Bharatpur) in India, Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, Ichkeul in Tunisia - figure on the lists of both Ramsar and the 1972 World Heritage Convention. The 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), deals with trade in a number of wetland species, and so has strong links with Ramsar. There is obvious potential for cooperation between Ramsar (which is concerned with the habitats of species linked to wetlands and particularly waterfowl) and the 1979 Bonn Convention on Migratory Species (which is concerned with the migratory species themselves). The recent adoption, under Bonn, of the 'Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds' opens the door for even broader cooperation, and there are prospects of similar agreements in other regions; thus the Ramsar Conference in Brisbane in March 1996, adopted the 'Brisbane Initiative' on the establishment of a network of listed sites along the East Asian-Australian flyway.

Labrador Tea Ledum palustre, a shrub found within the Sphagnum dominated peat bog ecosystem at Kushiro Marsh. Ramsar will be placing more emphasis on the designation of peatlands as Ramsar sites in the future. (Photo: Hisashi Shinsho)

Nor are the opportunities to work with regional conventions overlooked: Ramsar cooperates with the Berne Convention on European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, with the European Commission's many initiatives for conservation of wetlands, and with the UNEP Regional Seas Conventions, notably in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Thus in the Mediterranean, the European Commission provided much of the funding for the first phase of the 'MedWet' initiative, an innovative partnership between five European Union member governments, the Ramsar Bureau and a group of international and national NGOs, which drew up Mediterranean methodologies for conservation and wise use of Mediterranean wetlands; the second phase of MedWet is applying these methodologies in non-EU states of the Mediterranean, whilst a third phase will seek larger funding from Global Environment Facility (GEF) sources; meanwhile, at the Mediterranean Wetlands Conference in Venice in June 1996, a Mediterranean Wetland Strategy was endorsed, and Ramsar and the MedWet partners are collaborating with the Barcelona Convention in its implementation.

As previously noted, the newer conventions such as the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, or the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Climate Change and Combating Desertification adopt a holistic approach to conservation of biological diversity. Furthermore, the Montreal Protocol has its own funding mechanism, while the GEF acts as a funding mechanism for CBD and Climate Change.

GEF has recently adopted an Operational Strategy covering its four focal issues (biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer depletion, and international waters), all of which have relevance to wetlands. Changes in the world's climate, the province of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, also have major implications for wetlands: changes in weather patterns could mean that existing wetlands decline, to be replaced by new ones in other sites. Sea level rise is another general phenomenon with a potential to bring severe changes to wetlands in coastal areas, and one which marine states (and particularly small island developing states) take very seriously. Similarly, international waters - wetlands such as the courses of major rivers or coastal zones which in ecological terms are part of the same unit - may belong in political terms to different states; hence the need for coordination and consultation between the states concerned, as provided by GEF's focal issue on international waters, and in Ramsar's article on shared water systems. The work of the Convention to Combat Desertification could be seen as Ramsar in reverse: one convention concentrates on conserving wetlands, especially in arid zones, while the other seeks to prevent the encroachment of the desert.

Of particular relevance to the Ramsar Convention is the CBD which acts very much as an overarching structure, to which other conventions, with their own more precise focus, can and must relate and contribute. The CBD defines biological diversity as:

‘The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems'.

The CBD's broad formulations include articles on conserving biodiversity and on using biodiversity in a way that guarantees its survival (i.e. sustainable use of biodiversity). Many specific points of common concern between Ramsar and the CBD can be highlighted (see Box 3). Collaboration between the two conventions could promote overviews of the world's biodiversity; hitherto Ramsar's work has tended to reflect national concerns (hence the tendency for examples in the present volume to illustrate wetland values at national level as a contribution to the conservation of global wetland species and habitat diversity). There is still a need for prioritization at world level of wetland conservation tasks, and work of this type by Ramsar could act as a prototype for identifying world wetland priorities as a guide for other biomes.