The questions of H2O

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The questions of H2O

• and the role of Ramsar

Peter Bridgewater Secretary General The Ramsar
Convention
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How to successfully implement partnerships
between...
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GuidingContractingParties
As a convention, Ramsar is obviously firstly
responsive to its Contracting Parties...141 and
rising.
So it can play a key role in guiding Contracting
Parties in the issues of Integrated Water
Management, including Rivers basins and coastal
catchments.
www.ramsar.org
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NGO partners
Ramsar is also a little unusual in that it has
four NGO partners organizations that provide
technical support, strengthened linkages to civil
society, and the ability to carry the
Conventions message to a wider audience.
www.ramsar.org
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Partnershipswithingovernments
A key issue is the need to have partnerships
within governments, across and between the
different ministries which have responsibility
for water, nature conservation, pollution,
health, land planning, coastal and ocean matters.
www.ramsar.org
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Partnershipsbetweengovernments
And for Andorra, knowing that the country is a
water tower, and everything flows to the sea, are
important regional aspects of water management,
and important responsibilities of Government.
This is where Ramsar can help
www.ramsar.org
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What institutional, legal, financial or
other framework are essential and how to
establish or strengthen them ?...
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Overlapping
We need fewer anagrams and more synergy...
Institutional frameworks at local, national,
regional and international level have overlapping
mandates and jurisdictions, and the increase in
scale magnifies and distorts the potential
synergies.
www.ramsar.org
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Cooperation
The Ramsar Convention has an approach of working
with other global programmes and institutions on
the environment through joint work programmes and
memoranda of co-operation.
www.ramsar.org
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Governance
A primary concern must be to develop a governance
system which goes from international to local,
and allows nesting and reinforcing of efforts.
www.ramsar.org
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Financial support
Such mechanisms need appropriate financial and
sometimes legal bases, but this will depend on
the precise nature of the issue and the location.
www.ramsar.org
A key feature is that there is no magic bullet
for these issues
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How to get marine linkages on the political
agenda ?...
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Marine Links
Linkage between wetland conservation in mountain
areas and impacts on near coastal systems are not
obvious but are real. The key issue is how do we
make these links at real levels in governance?
www.ramsar.org
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Ramsars role
Within Ramsar, the focus on wise use, as well as
identification of emblematic sites of
international importance, means there are ways to
bring the need for water and wetland management
home to governments and to civil society.
www.ramsar.org
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How to get multi-stakeholder partnerships on the
political agenda ?...
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Multi-stakeholderspartnerships
Multi-stakeholder partnerships are on the agenda
now it is just difficult to establish and
manage them. Partnerships with many
stakeholders are the only way forward for
managing complex land and seascape systems.
www.ramsar.org
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How to finance the work of protecting H2O from
the hilltops to the oceans ?...
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Funding mechanisms
Financing efforts for integrated management,
which becomes sustainable, is effectively the key
challenge, especially in developing countries.
Global funding mechanisms, such as the GEF and
national governments should be encouraged to
develop new agendas and programmes which
recognise the cross-cutting nature of the issues
involved.
www.ramsar.org
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The question of H2O

• So, what will YOU do for water?

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For more information www.ramsar.org