Implementation Support to Parties

Despite the challenges of working in a world affected by the pandemic, the Secretariat continues to support Parties in the implementation of the Convention through building capacity and participating in a variety of relevant international and regional initiatives and processes that better enable Parties to implement the Convention at the national level.

 

Building Capacities

  • The Secretariat, with regional representatives, organized virtual regional meetings including preparatory meetings in all regions for Extraordinary COP.
  • During the proceedings of the COP26 on Climate Change in Glasgow, the Convention on Wetlands, WWF and Danone launched a new e-learning platform which aims to drive stronger public-private partnerships to conserve, wisely use and restore freshwater ecosystems. Visit the course platform here to browse the available courses and register.
  • On 3 December, the Secretariat, in collaboration with WWF, hosted the webinar Financing Mechanisms for Freshwater Ecosystems, an information session for Contracting Parties to learn more about the different financing mechanisms for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.
  • In July, Slovenia, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United Kingdom in partnership with the Secretariat organised the webinar Wetlands: Key Enablers for a Resilient and Sustainable Recovery. The webinar served as an opportunity to exchange policies and multi-stakeholder experiences on wetland conservation and its benefits for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read more and view the webinar here.

 

Supporting regional initiatives and regional work

The Secretariat engaged in work related to Ramsar Regional Initiatives:

  • Ramsar Regional Initiative for Central Asia Jubilee meeting which allowed the members to present the results of their activities over the five years since the launching of the RRI-CA and explore future activities together (23 July).
  • Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and MedWet RRI webinar on wetland restoration as nature-based solutions (16 November).
  • RRC-CWA webinar on the Effects of Drought on the Economic Benefits of Wetlands (15 June).

 

Other regional engagement opportunities included:

  • Ponderful network focusing on small wetlands, European Union Horizon 2020 project (10 June).
  • 9th Asian Wetland Symposium (AWS), including welcome address by the Secretary General (5 to 9 July).
  • Meetings with the Philippines and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity to explore potential collaboration (18 November).
  • World Wetland Network-Africa organized by Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) bringing together 20 NGOs to share experiences on best practices and lessons in wetlands management across Africa (20 to 29 June).

 

The Secretariat contributed to relevant technical work at the international level, including:

  • Annual meeting of the Society of Wetlands Scientists (SWS) with presentations on the Convention’s priorities (1 and 17 June).
  • Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) with an overview on the Convention’s approaches for wetland conservation from the GWO (16 November).
  • Global Peatlands Assessment (GPA) – first author’s meeting from the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI). The Convention on Wetlands is a founding member of the GPI www.globalpeatlands.org  and of the GPA steering group and will share the developing GPA process with interested Parties in order to assure that the GPA will serve Parties’ needs (launched in September).
  • IPBC Partner’s Dialogue Co-hosted by IPBC’s Coordinating Team and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea to define a way forward for the Partnership over the coming years (June).