Wetlands NewsLink

A Compilation of Wetland News from Around the World

[Home] [Current Issue] [Archives] [Calendar]

November 2001

Links Have Been Removed
The information provided is time sensitive and links are routinely broken.
To save you from the frustration of broken encounters they have been removed.
Please refer to the source from which the information came if you want to know more.

WETLANDS NEWSLINK – A Compilation of Wetland News from Around the World

Wetlands NewsLink is a monthly news service. Submissions are encouraged – any international news is welcome that might be of interest to others. Your input helps make this e-mail resource a useful, collaborative venture Submissions should be sent to: Luquer@aswm.org. Let me know of any colleagues that might like to receive this e-mail and I will gladly include them. Subscribership is available to anyone who asks.

Contents of the November 2001 Issue

– Note from the Editor

– News from Wetland Friends

– Wetland News – in the News – from Around the Globe

– Wetland Job Opportunities

– Wetland Grant Opportunity

– WETLAND MIGRATORY BIRD NEWS – New Feature!!!! & The North American Waterbird Conservation Initiative

– International Wetland Calendar (The dwindling year of 2001 and beyond)

For U.S. Wetland News go to: http://www.aswm.org/wbn

For past issues of Wetlands NewsLink on the web go to: http://www.aswm.org/wetlandsnewslink

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Wetland Friends:

Wetlands NewsLink expands to include news from the North American Waterbird Conservation Initiative!!! Wetlands NewsLink will continue to cover international wetland news with “Wetland Migratory Bird News” as a new section. Under this heading will be a “Waterbird Conservation Initiative” supplement. The Initiative is making great headway and will share its progress with us as it evolves.

Take care.

Heidi

Heidi Luquer

Wetlands NewsLink Editor

NEWS FROM WETLAND FRIENDS

IUCN Launches New Strategy: Global Action to Improve Dams

Gland, Switzerland – IUCN (The World Conservation Union) approved a strategy for policy change and local action that will promote and implement the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams. For further information contact Mr. Elroy Bos: Elroy.Bos@iucn.org Tel: +41.22.999.0251; Fax: +41.22.999.0025. A copy of the IUCN Statement on the World Commission on Dams report and the IUCN Strategy on Dams are available at http://iucn.org/themes/wetlands/WCD.html The WCD Report is available from http://www.dams.org

The Wildlife & Wetlands Trust in the UK Wins Top Environmental Tourist Award

3 October, BBC – The Wildlife and Wetlands Trusts’ Wetland Centre in Barnes, south west London, took the highest prize at British Airways “Tourism for Tomorrow” awards. Four disused reservoirs now attract more than 140 species of wild birds to the 105 acres of wetlands. For the full article go to: Http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1575000/1575431.stm

News From Ramsar, The Convention on Wetlands

Preparations for World Wetlands Day 2002 are underway. The Ramsar Bureau offers World Wetlands Day materials to assist government authorities, NGOs, and concerned citizens raise awareness of wetland values. These materials can be requested from Ramsar. For a peek go to: http://www.ramsar.org/wwd2002_index.htm

The Latest Wetlands Listed:

– the Government of Thailand designated 5 wetlands of international importance

– The United Kingdom designated two new sites both in the Falkland / Malvinas Islands.

– Portugal designated Paúl de Tornada (Tornada Marsh) and Paúl do Taipal (Taipal Marsh), an EU Birds Directive Special Protection Area.

For more details go to: http://www.ramsar.org/

WETLAND NEWS – IN THE NEWS – FROM AROUND THE GLOBE (by most recent date)

Mexican Officials Choose Lake Bed Site for Airport, Move Likely to Spark Environmental Battle

October 24, 2001, by John Rice, Associated Press, Mexico City – A dry lake bed west of Mexico City will be the site of the city's new international airport, federal transportation authorities announced Monday, in a decision likely to spark protests by environmentalists and city officials. The announcement came in response to an urgent need: The current international airport is an inner-city terminal operating at capacity and cannot be expanded. Operators of the new terminal would presumably have to frighten away — or remove—thousands of geese, ducks, and other birds which nest at a nearby lake. Environmentalists have said that would result in a massive slaughter of birds, possibly endangering air traffic if they were sucked into plane engines. For the full article go to:

http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/10/10242001/ap_45353.asp

The Disappearance of Dojran Lake, Macedonia

October 16, 2001, Environment News Service, by Natasha Dokovska, Skopje, Macedonia – Dojran Lake is dying. Situated in the southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, the lake is shared in almost equal parts between Macedonia and Greece. Today with a serious drought in the region, Dojran Lake is evaporating. Once characterized by the highest fish growth rate in Europe, Dojran Lake has rapidly shrunk to a third of its former size. In the middle of the lake, more than 50 islands have appeared as severe drought has caused a steep drop in the water level. For the full article go to: http://www.ens-news.com/ens/oct2001/2001L-10-16-03.html

China and the UN are Preparing an Ambitious Plan to Prevent Any Repetition of the Disastrous 1998 Floods on the Yangtze River

12 October, BBC, Alex Kirby – The work in this effort will cost $10m to restore lost lakes, and reduce deforestation and erosion. The Plan hopes to save lives and livelihoods; slow damage to the environment; and safeguard wild species. For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1595000/1595327.stm

Bleak Story Of The Black Sea: United Nations Environment Programme Joins Scientists in Urging Action to Save One of the World's Great Natural and Economic Jewels

October 12, 2001, Nairobi – One of the world's great seas is spiraling into decline as a result of chronic over-fishing, high levels of pollution and the devastating impacts of alien, introduced, species, an international team of scientists is warning. The environment, wildlife and people linked with the Black Sea are also under threat from large discharges of raw sewage, damaging levels of coastal erosion and the suffocating impacts of dumping of sludges and muds dredged from ports. For the full article go to:

Http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=219&ArticleID=2937

WETLAND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

The IUCN Announces Position for Project Officer, Water & Nature Initiative, Wetlands & Water Resources Programme

The candidate will be based at IUCN headquarters in Gland, Switzerland beginning March 2002. He or she will report to the Coordinator of the Wetlands and Water Resources and collaborate closely with the network of IUCN experts working on water and wetlands issues around the world. To learn more about the position go to: http://iucn.org/vacancies/index.html Interested individuals should submit a letter of motivation and CV before December 9, 2001 to: Director, Human Resources, IUCN, The World Conservation Union, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland; Fax ++4122 999 0339; E-mail: vacancies@hq.iucn.org

Wetlands International is seeking qualified candidates for three Junior Expert positions funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

- - Specialist Group Network Development and Support Officer, Wageningen the Netherlands; -- West Africa Programme Development Officer, Dakar, Senegal -- -- South Asia Wetlands Programme Officer, New Delhi, India. The official closing date for applications is November 9^th but inquire to see if one week late might be ok] Go to: http://www.wetlands.org/News/JrExpDGIS.htm

WETLAND GRANT OPPORTUNITY [USA, certain states only]

American Rivers-NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program Partnership Now Accepting Proposals for River Restoration Grants

Grants will be limited to projects in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and California. For a complete application and eligibility guidelines, please go to the American Rivers web site: www.amrivers.org/feature/restorationgrants.htm or contact us at the address below. For more information on the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program and its partners, please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html

Contact: Peter Raabe, River Restoration Finance Associate, American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005, Tel: (202) 347-7550 x3006; Fax: (202) 347-9240. Email: rivergrants@amrivers.org

WETLAND MIGRATORY BIRD NEWS

From Kazakhstan: Thousands of Migratory Birds from Siberia and Central Asia May Not Make it to Their Winter Homes

October 31, 2001, BBC – At this time of year, as the northern winter advances, hundreds of thousands of birds fill the skies across Siberia and Central Asia as they make their way to over-wintering sites further south - many via Afghanistan. But Kazakh television said this year birds could fall victim to the war on terrorism. Fighting could prevent the migrating

birds from stopping off in their usual favored places to rest as they fly over Afghanistan. For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/monitoring/media_reports/newsid_1628000/1628188.stm

Stubborn Fire at Chinese Reserve Destroys Habitat of Rare Crane

October 23, 2001, AP, Beijing – Fires have burned in a northern Chinese nature reserve for almost two months, consuming thousands of acres of parched marshlands that are home to a rare bird, a park management official said Monday. The Zhalong reserve, in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang, lies along a key migration route for birds. It hosts one of the few remaining populations of red-crested cranes, also known as Manchurian or Japanese cranes. For the full story go to: http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/10/10232001/ap_crane_45337.asp

New Book Explores the Life of Shorebirds

“Shorebirds,” by Des Thompson and Ingvar Byrkjedal, is one of the latest volumes in the WorldLife Library series, an expanding series of books that draws on the knowledge, personal experiences and research of the worlds leading naturalists. WorldLife Library books are appropriate for ages 10+. It can be ordered from Voyageur Press: tel: 800/888-9653 or fax: 651/430-2211, or on the web: www.voyageurpress.com Paperback, $16.95; 10 x 9, 72 pgs, 50 color photos. ISBN: 0-89658-561-1.

THE NORTH AMERICAN WATERBIRD CONSERVATION INITIATIVE

[Below is a detailed description of recent progress with the Plan]

The North American Waterbird Conservation Initiative (NAWCI) is progressing in its work to facilitate the planning and implementation of waterbird conservation in Canada, USA, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. The second draft of the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan – Colonial Waterbirds is available for review and comment. It can be accessed at www.nawcp.org Comments on the plan should be sent to WaterbirdComments@usgs.gov

NAWCI sponsored a workshop on the conservation of marshbirds in Denver in August, 2001. This workshop covered waterbirds that are not otherwise being thoroughly considered by other bird conservation initiatives. These birds include grebes, loons, coots, moorhens, cranes, limpkin, bitterns. The report of the workshop is being reviewed by participants and will be made available for wider review soon via the home page. A working group is being assembled to prepare a continent-wide plan, which will constitute the second volume of the North American Waterbird Plan. Ornithologists and conservationists interested in participating in the development of the continental plan for marshbirds should contact Jim Kushlan (Jkushlan@aol.com).

Regional and national planning is underway across the Plan area. NAWCI has divided North America into bio-politically sensible regions for regional level conservation planning for both colonial and noncolonial waterbirds. Updates follow:

Canada – Planning in Canada is being undertaken at regional, provincial and Bird Conservation Region (BCR) scales, as appropriate. Planning at the BCR scale is occurring in parallel with planning for other bird groups. Canada is trying to ensure that they are moving in concert with continental planning. The Canadian Technical Advisory Committees (inland and seabird) met Nov 12 and 13 in Niagara Falls.

Pacific Islands – The Region 1 of the US Fish and Wildlife Service is sponsoring writing of a seabird plan that includes the Pacific Islands, where most of the seabirds nest in Federally protected sites. Other species of island waterbirds are managed under the Endangered Species Act.

Pacific Coast – Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO), in partnership with collaborators, is beginning to develop a conservation plan for seabirds of the California Current large marine ecosystem (southern BC to Mexico). The group invites collaboration to create a comprehensive plan (over the next 18 months) and to establish the means to implement the Plan once completed. The detailed project description will be available soon. For more information, contact Bill Sydeman, Michelle Hester, Kyra Mills or Gregg Elliott at PRBO. (wjsydeman@prbo.org, gelliott@prbo.org).

Lower 48 States – Planning in regions in the lower 48 United States is proceeding at various rates. Intermountain West/Southwest Desert – A contract will be let to write the plan.

NE Maritime – Scott Johnston (USFWS Region 5) and Kathy Parsons (Manomet Center for Conservation Science) have assumed leadership for planning in this region.

Upper Mississippi Valley/Great Lakes – Plan leadership has initiated planning efforts and preliminary decision making, while awaiting clarification on issues such as prioritization. Prairie Pothole – Data collection and plan development is occurring on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border. Target date is November for initial draft.

Southeast – Species-specific assessments are being delegated, and an initial draft of the plan is scheduled for December.

Caribbean – The Society of Caribbean Ornithologists has assumed the lead in developing a regional waterbird plan for the Caribbean. A task force has been appointed.

Mexico – NAWCI will partner with NABCI Mexico to provide advice on waterbird conservation within Important Bird Areas in Mexico.

Ornithologists and conservationists interested in participating in the Regional Waterbird Planning effort should contact Jennifer Wheeler: Jennifer_A_Wheeler@fws.gov