Gumboot November 2010

Experts Address Climate Change, Biodiversity and Wise Use

What started 12 years ago with five wetlanders relaxing at a pub chatting about how to improve cooperation and information sharing in the wetlands community, has grown into a well structured annual platform of national importance. Scientists, students, practitioners, decision makers and experts involved in research and various other efforts aimed at managing wetlands and water resources attend without fail.

WESTERN CAPE PROJECT WINS BEST PROJECT AWARDS IN WETLAND REHABILITATION

Hard work always pays off, and this is the confirmation that Leonie Erasmus, the Duiwenhoks Wetland Rehabilitation Project manager, received during the recent Working for Wetlands Implementers’ Forum that took place in Kimberley. Her team was announced as the overall winner for the 2009/10 Working for Wetlands Best Project Award. The Duiwenhoks project is being implemented in partnership with the Western Cape conservation agency, CapeNature, and the LandCare section of the provincial Department of Agriculture. The Kamiesberg Project in the Northern Cape, implemented by SANParks, was the first runner-up and the Upper Mzintlava project in KwaZulu-Natal, implemented by Highland Wetland Rehabilitation, came third.

WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2011

The Ramsar Secretariat has begun distributing promotional materials for the 2011 World Wetlands Day activities. These include posters, comic strips and stickers on the theme in both hard copy and in printable format on a CD. There is also a full-colour leaflet prepared in collaboration with the United Nations Forum on Forests for event organisers to encourage and assist them in organizing WWD events that focus upon forests, wetlands and forested wetlands in their national or local setting. For children there is a hands-on activity for children of all ages: a do-it-yourself dragonfly facemask with an instruction sheet.
This material can also be accessed here:
http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-activities-wwds-wwd2011index/main/ramsar/1-63-78%5E24770_4000_0__
Once the poster has been adapted to the South African conditions the designs will be uploaded here and also printed and distributed country-wide.
The theme for next year’s event is WETLANDS and FORESTS and the slogan, FORESTS FOR WATER AND WETLANDS. This theme coincides with the UN International Year of Forests. The year 2011 is also a special year for Ramsar. It is Ramsar’s 40th anniversary. Forty years of caring for wetlands.   

VITAL STATISTICS

SNIPPET

A NEW WETLAND PORTAL WEBSITE LAUNCHED
A new South African wetland website was launched at the National Wetlands Indaba 2010 in Kimberley. This new portal will not only offer easy access to important wetland information, but will also allow users to take part in the great wetland debate. The portal builds on and replaces the Wetlands SA website that was hosted by Working for Wetlands provisionally until a more viable platform could be found.