World Wetlands Day - February the 2nd 2004

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World Wetlands Day - February the 2nd 2004From
the Mountains to the SeaWetlands at Work for Us
Central European University and the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands have the honour to present
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Organizing Committee

• Brandon Holland
• Fiona Borthwick
• Sattor Jabbor
• Stanislava Boshnakova
• Oana Boingeanu
• Marina Olshanskaya
• Mojca Langerholc

• Svetoslav Apostolov
• Iordan Hristov

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Acknowledgements

• The Ramsar Convention Bureau
• The Student Activity Committee at CEU
• The Department of Environmental Sciences and
  Policy at CEU
• The Center for Academic Writing at CEU

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What is it all about?

• 1. What is Ramsar Convention?
• 2. What is World Wetlands Day?
• 3. What is Wetland?
• 4. Types of Wetlands.
• 5. Functions and services of Wetlands.
• 6. Threats to Wetlands.
• 7. How to improve the status of the Wetlands?

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What is Ramsar Convention?

• Intergovernmental treaty (with 138 contracting
  parties)
• framework for the conservation and wise use of
  wetlands and their resources
• The main instrument through which the Convention
  works is the List of Wetlands of International
  Importance - Ramsar sites (recently there are
  1328 sites with total area 1.11 mill. km2).

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What is World Wetlands Day?

• The birthday of the Convention on Wetlands
  Conservation signed on the 2nd of February 1971
• Aims to explain the importance of wetlands for
  the people
• To clarify the multiple values and services that
  wetlands provide
• Aims to promote the conservation and sustainable
  use of wetlands within the multinational
  community of CEU

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What is Wetland?

• static water body - like a lake, or fast flowing
  water -like a river
• on the coast or inland
• in the mountains or in the plains
• natural or human made
• freshwater or marine
• 6 of the surface of the Earth

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Types of Wetlands(according to the Convention on
Wetlands)

• Inland Wetlands
• Marine/Coastal Wetlands
• Human-made wetlands

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Inland Wetlands

• - deltas
• - rivers/streams/creeks
• - freshwater lakes
• - marshes
• - pools
• - peatlands
• - freshwater springs
• - geothermal wetlands.

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Marine/Coastal Wetlands

• Permanent shallow marine waters
• Coral reefs
• Rocky marine shores
• Sand, shingle or
• pebble shores
• Estuarine waters
• Coastal saline and freshwater lagoons.

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Human-made wetlands

• Aquaculture ponds (e.g., fish/shrimp)
• Irrigated land (rice fields)
• Seasonally flooded agricultural
• land (pastures)
• Salt exploitation sites
• Water storage areas
• Excavations (gravel/brick/
• clay pits)
• Canals and drainage channels
• Wastewater treatment areas

photographer prof. Bellinger
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Functions and Services of Wetlands

• Water storage and purification
• Biodiversity protection
• Sediment retention
• Groundwater replenishment
• Climate change mitigation
• Recreation/tourism
• Cultural value

Rice fields in India (source Ramsar Convention
).
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Threats to Wetlands

• building of dams
• channelization of riverbeds
• overexploitation of wetlands resources
• introduction of invasive species

• drainage and filling

Source www.bspb.org

• water pollution

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Ways to Improve the Wetlands Status

• public awareness campaigns
• policy measures
• field actions
• financial mechanisms

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Main messages

• Wetlands should be conserved because
• they provide source of food
• they are important reservoirs for water
• they are natural waster water treatment
  facilities
• they mitigate the climate change effects.

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For more information
Who wants to ask a question?

• http//www.personal.ceu.hu/students/03/nature_cons
  ervation

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Thank you for your attention!
Febr.2nd 2004, Central European University