The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Dr Emma Carmody Legal Advisor, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dr Emma Carmody Legal Advisor, Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Switzerland) Special Counsel, Environmental Defenders Office (Australia) Visiting Fellow, UNSW Law (Australia)

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

• 1. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – history, governance, law
• 2. The role of legal advisor to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• 3. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and SDGs

Subhead or explanation here

• 1. History, Governance, Law

HISTORY

• Oldest MEA
• Adopted in 1971 and entered into force in 1975
• 1971 – 18 signatories
• 1974 – Australia designated first wetland: Coburg Peninsula in NT
• 2020 – 171 signatories
• Provides for the listing and conservation of wetlands of international

importance and ‘wise use’ of all wetlands in territory of signatory state

Extent of Ramsar listed Wetlands

Number of sites: 2390 Extent: 253,875,627 ha Global distribution:

• Africa 394
• Asia 329
• Latin Am 201
• Oceania 82

• COP
• Standing Committee
• Scientific and Technical Review Panel
• Other subsidiary bodies
• Secretariat

Governance

What’s the law got to do with it?

Graph of doom

• 2. Legal advisor
• Advise during sessions of COP and SC
• Advise intersessionally

• 3. SDGs and the future of

the Convention

i. ‘Wise use’ concept

• ii. Case study – Ngiri-Tumba Maindombe

wetlands

• iii. Ramsar and SDG 6
• iv. Future of the Convention

i. SDGs and concept of ‘wise use’

Article 3.1

The Contracting Parties shall formulate and implement their planning so as to promote the conservation of the wetlands included in the List, and as far as possible the wise use of wetlands in their territory. ...the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development. COP 9, Resolution IX.1, Annex A

• ii. Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the

Democratic Republic of Congo – 65,000 km²

Plagued by:

• Legacy of civil water and ongoing,

intermittent internal conflict

• Widespread poverty (63 percent of the

population lives below the poverty line)

• Widespread food insecurity and

malnutrition

• Lack of access to clean water
• High infant and maternal mortality rates

Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe and SDGs continued…

The rivers and lakes of the region are a major storehouse for CO2 (SDG 13) The wetland’s vegetation protects towns along the Congo River from floods (SDG 11) Forests filter water and maintain its quality for human consumption (SDG 6) Vital for food security - cassava, fish etc. (SDG 2) Lake Tumba supports over 114 species

• f fish (SDG 2, 15)

• iii. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and SDG 6

SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation SDG Target 6.1 – By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. SDG Indicator 6.6.1 – Map the following:

• Spatial extent of water-related

ecosystems and inland open waters

• Quantity of water in ecosystems
• Quality of water in ecosystems

Ramsar: co-custodian of SDG Indicator 6.6.1

• iv. SDGs and the future of the Ramsar

Convention

Food security (SDG 2)

• Fisheries, agriculture
• Chilika Lake in Odisha, India – sustains

200,000 fisherfolk Sustainable use of water and sanitation (SDG 6)

• In 2009, Wetlands International reported that

work in four major wetlands demonstrated strong link between water quality and quantity in wetlands and health of wetland- dependent communities Climate change (SDG 13)

• Carbon sequestration and storage
• Contain 35% of global terrestrial carbon
• Clearing can release Co2

Final observations…

• Wetlands cover 6-9% Earth’s surface – many

in Global South

• What is needed:
• Educate re. links to SDGs in particular

food security, water security and climate change

• Elevate status of Convention

internationally

• Greater integration with work of UN

bodies (UNGA, ECOSOC…)

• Improved implementation

www.ramsar.org