International Treaty Members Promote "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People"

A Delegation from the United States, consisting of representatives from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of State, US Environmental Protection Agency, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the US National Ramsar Committee, recently assembled in the Republic of Korea for the 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP10) to the Ramsar Treaty Convention on Wetlands. The Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971, provides a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Contracting Parties (158 countries containing 1,822 wetland sites covering 168 million hectares included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance) meet every three years to assess Convention implementation progress, share knowledge and experience on technical issues, address the importance of further developing and intensifying internationally coordinated actions for the conservation of wetlands, and plan for the next triennium. With the theme Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People, COP 10 considered over 30 agenda items, including the Convention?s Strategic Plan 2009-2014, its budget for the triennium 2009-2011, reports and recommendations submitted by the Parties and the Convention?s Standing Committees, and the role of wetlands in sustainable development issues such as human health and well-being, climate change, biofuels, extractive industries, urbanization, and poverty eradication.