NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Wetland Friends:

Sorry for the delay this month.  Wetlands NewsLink will be updating its format in the coming months.  Stay tuned and best wishes -

Heidi

Heidi Luquer

Wetlands NewsLink Editor

NEWS FROM WETLAND FRIENDS

Environment Law Institute (ELI) Announces 2002 National Wetland Awards

ELI announces that its deadline for submitting nominations is December 15, 2001.  The Awards program honors individuals from across the United States who demonstrate extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at regional, state, or local levels.  (Please note that federal employees are not eligible for recognition in this program.)  For more information go to:  http://www.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm  For the Nomination Form go to:  http://www.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm

 

North American Wetland Conservation Act(NAWCA) – Grant Information

NAWCA announces its coming deadlines:  March 1 and July 26, 2002.  The 2001 proposal instructions are still posted and 2002 are “in progress.”  For grant instructions go to:  http://birdhabitat.fws.gov  To speak to someone in person, contact Bettina Sparrowe:  bettina_sparrowe@fws.gov at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Bird Habitat Conservation.

 

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council Committee Relaunches its Website: http://wetlandscanada.org  // In French:http://terreshumidescanada.org.

 

Originally established in 1990 to provide national leadership for the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and for the promotion of wetland policy and awareness, the Wetlands Council expanded to also become the NABCI Canada Council (taking on the additional role of coordinating the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in Canada).  For more specific information contact Allison Grose, Program Coordinator, Secretariat, NABCI Canada Council:  E-mail: agrose@igs.net

 

 

NEWS FROM RAMSAR, The Convention on Wetlands

More Wetlands Listed!!!

 

-- Australia has designated its 57th Ramsar site

-- Bolivia names three wetlands to the Convention totaling 46,000 square kilometers – an area larger than Switzerland.

-- Kenya has designated its third “wetland of international importance”

-- The United Kingdom designated the Isles of Sicily (402 hectares, 49deg58’N 006deg21’W) as its 163rd Ramsar site.

 

For many more details go to:  http://www.ramsar.org/w.n.html

 

The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS)  –  Final Notice

SWS is soliciting proposals to their Ramsar Support Grant Program, which was established to advance Ramsar Convention objectives, including the selection, designation, management, and networking of Ramsar sites; and the promotion of Ramsar's Wise Use guidelines.  Two to four projects are funded each year at a level of US $5,000 on a competitive basis as reviewed by a 4-member Evaluation Committee.  Only applicants working on Ramsar-related activities in countries that are on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Development Assistance Committee (DAC) are invited to join.  Grant guidelines and application forms can be found on the SWS web site at www.sws.org/regional/international/Ramsar.Support.Framework

 

The IUCN Wetlands Programme Offers Small Grant Opportunity

 

This small grants program finances local NGO projects in the field of conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.  Twenty-six countries are supported:  Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Macedonia, Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Yemen, Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh.  For more details go to the web site: http://www.wetlands.nl  The proposal deadline was moved from November 1 to October 1, 2001 so don’t be caught off guard!!!  Please use this e-mail address for any further questions:  esther.blom@nciucn.nl

 

WHSRN Announces “Call for Nominations”  for Shorebird Award to a Latin American Scientist

In recognition of Pablo Canevari, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences announces a call for nominations for the Pablo Canevari Award.  The Award is a $1,000 grant to support research and/conservation efforts focused on shorebirds to a Latin American nominee or organization.  Nominations may be submitted by completing a  nomination form [only in Spanish] no later than October 31, 2001.  The award will be announced by early December.  E-mail Heidi to request a  nomination form:  Luquer@manomet.org

 

A New Strategy for the Bulgarian Danube Islands will Ensure the Protection of Natural Floodplain Forests

WWF, October 4, 2001.  The Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and the Ministry of Environment and Water adopted a Strategy for the protection and restoration of natural floodplain forests on the Bulgarian Danube islands. For the full article go to:  http://www.panda.org/europe/freshwater/newsroom/newsroom35.html

 

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

 

Fishing Permit Poses a Problem for the Galapagos National Park

September 28, WWF, Quito, Ecuador – The Ecuadorian Minister of Environment, Lourdes Luque de Jaramillo, has recently approved the issuance of a fishing permit for the vessel Tintorera, owned by Holger Johnjones.  The permit will allow the Tintorera to fish inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve.  For the full story go to:  http://www.panda.org/news/press/news.cfm?id=2513

 

Drought Chokes Off Iran’s Water & Its Economy

September 18, 2001, The New York Times, By Neil MacFarquhar – The worst drought in 30 years is slowly strangling much of Iran; Lake Hamoun, country's largest body of fresh water and one of largest in world, is desert; Sistan-Baluchistan Province, home to lake, remains worst affected area, but almost all 28 provinces are living through third straight year of drastically low rainfall; United Nations report pegs losses from drought for first six months of year at $2.6 billion; drinking water is being rationed in more than 30 big cities.

For the article to New York Times archives:  http://archives.nytimes.com/archives/

 

WWF Maps Ambitious Arctic Conservation Plan

 

September 10, 2001, Environment News Service, Toronto, Ontario, Canada –  The Arctic's fragile ecosystems are facing what the World Wide Fund for Nature is calling "major accelerating threats."  A meeting of WWF leaders from the eight Arctic nations was held last week to map out an Arctic conservation plan.  For the full article go to: http://www.ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-10-01.html

 

 

Great Barrier Reef Overloaded with Pollutants

 

September 12, 2001,  Environment News Service, Canberra, Australia  –  Federal Environment Minister, Robert Hill, today released a ground-breaking scientific report addressing the effect of land use activities on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.  It recommends specific end-of-river pollution targets for all 26 river catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, the world's longest reef.  For the full article go to:  http://www.ens-news.com/ens/sep2001/2001L-09-12-02.html

 

 

News From Ducks Unlimited, USA:  Fall Flight Forecast Calls for Another Good Season

 

Memphis, Tennessee, September 17, 2001 – Waterfowl enthusiasts should expect an impressive though diminished fall flight this autumn, according to DU officials. Based on observations by DU staff in the field and surveys by U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments, habitat conditions varied throughout the breeding grounds, which, biologists say, will also cause regional variation in the fall flight.  For the full article go to:  http://www.ducks.org/news/fall_flight_2001.asp

 

 

 

WETLAND JOB OPPORTUNITIES

 

Ramsar Seeks Intern/Assistant to the Regional Coordinator for the Americas

 

A potential applicant must be a national of countries from the Americas.  The position requires full ability to work in English and a mother-tongue-level of Spanish.  Qualified candidates from that region are encouraged to read the general terms of reference for Ramsar Internships: http://ramsar.org/about_internships.htm  and apply by 31 October 2001, to begin on 1 February 2002.  For further information contact Annette Keller, Administration Coordinator:  keller@ramsar.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. 

 

Closing Date for applications is November 9th.   For details go to:  http://www.wetlands.org/News/JrExpDGIS.htm

 

 

 

WETLAND & WETLAND-RELATED PUBLICATIONS

 

Saving Louisiana?  The Battle for Coastal Wetlands, By Bill Streever

 

Wetlands expert Bill Streever spent years struggling with the question: Can Louisiana's wetlands be saved?  Salt water is inundating coastal Louisiana, transforming precious wetlands into backwaters of the Gulf of Mexico. Science may hold the key to reversing the problem. But what will the cost be? And will the plan work? These are the quandaries Streever reports in his new book.  Published by University Press of Mississippi.  To learn more about the book or to place an order go to: http://www.upress.state.ms.us/

 

 

Biodiversity Conservation of the World's Lakes: A Preliminary Framework for Identifying Priorities"

 

This publication identifies 250 lakes in 73 countries as initial priorities for biodiversity conservation.  Most of the identified lakes do not have comprehensive lake watershed management plans in place.  Although available data are limited, these lakes support globally significant fish, mollusk, crab, shrimp or bird biodiversity or they are representative examples of particularly rare types of lakes. The study includes biological diversity and limnological information on each priority lake, and water scarcity and institutional measures (such as accountability) by country.

The report is available as a PDF document at:  http://www.worldlakes.org/Biodiversity.htm

For more information contact Laurie Duker of LakeNet.   E-mail: laurieduker@monitorinternational.org Website: www.worldlakes.org

 

 

Alberta’s Wetlands: A Law and Policy Guide

 

The Environmental Law Centre of Edmonton, Alberta and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan partners have completed an exhaustive guide to the laws, policies and regulatory processes that can affect Alberta’s wetlands. This 200-page publication by Arlene Kwasniak contains seven law primers and thirteen detailed chapters, including riparian rights, bed and shores, water regulation, environmental assessment, federal interests through fisheries, navigation and migratory birds, municipal controls, resource development and protective mechanisms.  To place an order, contact the Centre through WetKit at http://www.wetkit.net/showtool.cfm?tool=304

THE END

October 12, 2001