7th Oceania Regional Meeting of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Tanoa International, Nadi, Fiji Islands Fiji

6 Mar - 8 Mar 2017

Tanoa International, Nadi, Fiji Islands

The Seventh Oceania Regional Meeting of the Ramsar Convention will provide a platform for the Contracting Parties of Oceania to review the progress of the national and regional implementation of the Ramsar Convention since the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP12) in June 2015, and to discuss and share experiences relating to priorities, successes and challenges currently faced by the Contracting Parties of Oceania concerning the conservation and wise use of their wetlands. It is hoped that the stakeholders will identify and examine ways to move forward and improve the implementation of the Convention in the region. It is also hoped that the meeting will initiate the process of building regional contributions in relation to the Draft Resolutions that are expected to be presented at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13), which is scheduled to take place in October 2018 in Dubai (UAE).

Objectives of the meeting

By bringing together wetland stakeholders from across Oceania the meeting is expected to achieve the following specific objectives: 

-         To identify the Oceania region’s needs and strategically plan on how to secure financial support to address their needs to effectively implement the Ramsar Convention;

-         To investigate opportunities to initiate and prepare a COP13 Draft Resolution on Blue Carbon so as to ensure that the carbon sequestration and storage functions of coastal ecosystems are recognized and promoted at all levels, thus leading to enhanced protection of coastal wetlands and their resources;

-         To investigate opportunities to initiate and prepare a COP13 Draft Resolution on ‘Culture, Livelihoods and Wetlands’ so as to promote the role of traditional knowledge and practices in wetland conservation and wise use;

-         To discuss options for establishing and running a Ramsar Regional Initiative for Oceania (RRI-Oceania) to build capacity and strengthen regional cooperation for effectively implementing the Ramsar Convention in Oceania; 

-         To discuss and outline a publication on Wetlands of Oceania that will be used as a decision support tool for policy makers in Oceania as well as for awareness raising of the general public.

Participants

The expected participants include representatives from:

-         Ramsar Contracting Parties of the Oceania region (Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Samoa);

-         Non-Contracting Parties of the Oceania region: Vanuatu (in the process of joining the Convention), Solomon Islands;

-         Partner organizations;

-        Ramsar Secretariat.

 For more information on the meeting please contact the Ramsar Regional Officer for Oceania, Ms. Solongo Khurelbaatar at khurelbaatar@ramsar.org or +679 862 3328.