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China Designates Six New Ramsar Sites
The paperwork has been completed for the People's Republic of China's newest additions to the List of Wetlands of International Importance, designated with effective date of last World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2008. China has now designated 36 Ramsar sites, totaling 3,168,210 hectares, and globally the Convention now has 1,828 Ramsar sites covering a surface area of 168,985,680 hectares. Ramsar's Pragati Tuladhar has drawn up these brief site descriptions for the Annotated Ramsar List, based on the information contained in the Ramsar Information Sheets that accompanied the designations.
Fujian Zhangjiangkou National Mangrove Nature Reserve. Fujian; 2,358 ha; 23°55′N 117°25′E). National Nature Reserve. Dominated by mangrove forest in the estuary area and including intertidal mudflats and salt marshes, located in the estuary of Zhangjian River. Provides habitat for more than 154 birds species, including IUCN Red-listed. There are 240 other aquatic animal species and 224 vascular plants too. It is also a spawning and breeding place for important fish species
Guangdong Haifeng Wetlands. Guangdong; 11,591 ha; 22°59′N 115°19′E. Nature Reserve. A complex of intertidal mudflats, permanent shallow marine water, sand beaches, permanent rivers, reservoirs, aquaculture ponds and mangrove marshes located on the South China coast, located along the East Asian - Australasian Flyway. The site harbors 163 bird species, among which 25 species are on the National Protected Species list, including endangered and vulnerable IUCN Red List species
Hubei Honghu Wetlands. Hubei; 43,450 ha; 29°50´N 113°19´E. Nature Reserve.The seventh largest freshwater lake of China, located on the northern bank of middle Yangtze river along the East Asian - Australasian Flyway. IUCN Red Listed species of birds are found here. The aquatic, polar and willow vegetation provides habitat for 139 bird species, 62 fish species,6 amphibian species, 12 reptile species,13 mammal species, 379 zooplanktons, 472 vascular plants species and 280 phytoplankton species.
Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Nature Reserve for Chinese Sturgeon. Shanghai; 3,760 ha; 31°31’N 122°05’E. Nature Reserve. A estuarine salt-fresh water wetlands in the estuarine area of the Yangtze river, the third largest in the world. The wetland provides habitat for IUCN Red Listed species like Baixun or Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius), Baiqitun (Lipotes vexillifer), and Moxiangjing (Physeter macrocephalus), and it provides critical refuge for Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) as well as breeding place for important economic fish species. 332 fish species are found.
Sichuan Ruoergai Wetland National Nature Reserve. 02/02/08; Sichuan; 166,570 ha; 33°43’N 102°44’E. Nature Reserve. Said to be the largest alpine peat marsh in the world as well as tundra wetland located in the upstream area of the Yellow River and the northeast of Qinghai -Tibet Plateau at 3,422m-3,704m altitude. A marsh meadow vegetation provides habitat for 137 bird species including IUCN Red-List species as well as 38 animal species, 3 amphibian species,15 fish species, 3 amphibian species and 362 wild plant species.
(Source: P. Dwight in Ramsar Forum)
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Restoration and Public Awareness for Lake Ludaš in Serbia
In 2001, the Ramsar Convention through its Small Grant Fund Programme was able to fund a two-phase project in Serbia intended to rehabilitate and restore wet meadows at Ludaško Lake, and to contribute to the realization of a Visitor Educational Centre. The site, located in Vojvodina province, is the oldest of nine Serbian Ramsar sites, in fact, one of the few remaining natural lakes of the Pannonia Plain. In the ‘50s most of the wet and fen meadows were converted into hayfields, pastures and arable lands, leading to severe degradation of the original ecosystems.
Through several activities of field monitoring, evaluation, and measurements with the collaboration of local communities, the conditions to pursue the rehabilitation of these wetlands are now being created. Several educational activities such bank cleaning campaigns and celebrations of environmental days with school children have been organized, increasing the awareness of the site’s values. The creation of new facilities for ecotourism, such as observation paths, has enhanced the economic values of this Ramsar site in line with the concept of wise use of wetlands.
Some of the SGF funds were also used to co-finance the construction of the Ludaš Visitor Centre as part of the Hungary–Serbia Cross Border Cooperation Programme - a bigger EU-funded project managed by EAR started in March 2006 and just recently concluded. The new centre offers facilities of various genres showcasing the outstanding natural values of this site through permanent and temporary exhibitions, posters, multimedia tools, and visitor’s routes with information in Hungarian, Serbian and English languages.
In the visitor centre are also presented different thematic areas illustrating the other three protected areas in the region, wetlands conservation strategies and challenges.
(Source: P. Dwight in Ramsar Forum)
(3)
Victory For Waterfowl and Red-breasted Goose in Bulgaria
Recently, the Bulgarian Parliament turned down an amendment of the Hunting Act (containing proposals to extend the hunting season for waterfowl to 28 February)
On 21.10.2008 the Hunting Act amendments were published in the Bulgarian State Newspaper. The hunting season for waterfowl (ducks and geese) would be ending on 31 January (the hunting lobby wanted an extension to the end of February). The Parliament decided to shorten the hunting season for Quail and Turtle Dove with the start date of 15 August put back to 1 September.
The penalties for poaching were increased and there are now also penalties for possession of illegal game trophies.
The Parliament decided to permit private hunting estates. This issue is very controversial but many strict restrictions have been imposed. We will continue to monitor the private hunting estates and try to work with their managers in order to prevent poisoning of raptors.
This signal victory was achieved because of the personal commitment of one Bulgarian MP, the strong support of the Ministry of Environment, the extensive lobbying of Parliament by Bulgarian NGOs and wildlife tour operators, and the influential international support for petition on www.forthenature.org. The petition was supported and signed by more than 2500 EU citizens (representing all EU countries), more than 800 Russian citizens and many others from more than 50 countries worldwide.
(Source: P. Dwight in Ramsar Forum)
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Problems regarding the Awase Tidal Flat area
The Awase Landfill Project is to reclaim the expanding coastal wetland off the eastern coast in Okinawa City, covering 187ha. The red circle indicates the first phase of the landfill (96ha), and the blue circle indicates the second phase of the landfill (91ha).The Okinawa General Bureau (the central government) and the Okinawa Prefectural government have been proceeding the first phase of the landfill plan. In the fiscal year 2007, the construction work of the revetment (seawall, bank protection) was completed. From 2009 it will be started to bring dredged soil (derived from another site for a harbor and a ship water cause) from a nearby municipality (The red arrow indicates the delivering route of dredged soil). This Landfill Project has been proceeded by the central and Okinawa Prefectural governments allegedly upon a request from Okinawa City. When the construction work is completed, the Okinawa Prefectural government is to purchase the land from the central government. Then Okinawa City will purchase the half of it, covering approximately 90ha, and build marine resort facilities (e.g., hotels, marina, artificial beaches). The purpose of this project is twofold.: one is to utilize this area as a disposal area for abandoning unnecessary dredged soil coming from the nearby construction site (the main purpose of the central government), and another one is to build marine resort facilities on this landfill area (the main purpose of the Prefectural government and Okinawa City).
Problems and issues:
-The two purposes of the plan are not critically urgent and without rationality.
-The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not performed thoroughly.
-Many new and ecologically valuable species have been found after the EIA surveys and after the Landfill work was started. There are no plan to conserve these species, and these important
species are/will be buried alive. Nine new species,121 of endangered fauna species (108 Mollusks, 7 Crustacea, and 6 fish) and many endangered flora species have been recorded. As
many as 12 seagrass species have been found inhabiting this area, which makes this area of the
highest seagrass biodiversity in Japan. This is a typical example of unnecessary construction works in Japan. A world-class and biodiversity-rich wetland, which meets criteria for the listing under the Ramsar Convention, is now being lost. The plan has not been fully supported by local citizens (A majority of people opposed this plan according to various polls). There have been requests to stop the plan and concerns have been expressed nationally and internationally: e.g., Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, the Australian Minister of Environment, and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
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Fear That Incinerator Will Threaten A Wetland Based Protected Area
A MAJOR international organisation has said that Jersey faces environmental peril if a £106 million incinerator is built at La Collette. Experts at the Ramsar Secretariat are concerned that the incinerator will be next to a protected area. In 2000 the States approved 32.1 sq km of the Island’s shoreline to be designated a United Nations Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The area stretches from the seaward edge of the tanker berth at the Harbour to the tip of Gorey pier. Stephan Flink from the Switzerland-based organisation said that he was ‘saddened to hear the peril Jersey is in’.
And Wetlands International, a member party of the Ramsar Convention, has the Island’s incinerator as ‘this month’s threatened wetland’ on its website. Jerseyman Dave Cabeldu, a member of the Ramsar Steering Group who campaigned to get Jersey’s south coast protected, has been speaking to the Ramsar Secretariat in Gland, Switzerland. Mr Cabeldu, speaking on behalf of Save Our Shoreline members, said Jersey was in breach of the international Ramsar convention because an independent impact assessment was not carried out before the incinerator was approved by the States in July.
(Source: http://www.thisisjersey.com/2008/12/16/planning-deny-environment-danger-claims/)