Ramsar Releases Briefing Note on Wetland Restoration

18 May 2012: The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) has released the fourth entry in the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel's (STRP) Briefing Notes series, titled “The benefits of wetland restoration.”

The 20-page note reviews the importance of wetland ecosystem services and the role of restoration in maintaining those services, with brief case studies. It describes methods of prioritizing potential restoration projects, and provides links to additional materials.

The briefing note provides advice on how to prioritize and implement the adopted Ramsar principles and guidelines on wetland restoration (Annex 1). It also advises on the relevance of other guidance to assist the following audiences in restoring wetlands: the Ramsar National Focal Points; national, subnational and local policy makers; legislators and regulators; administrators; planning and implementing bodies involved in restoration of degraded wetlands; and practitioners implementing wetland restoration activities on the ground, including wetland managers, NGOs, communities, corporations, and local/state/provincial councils and administrative units.

The briefing note will be considered by the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP 11), which will take place in Bucharest, Romania, from 6-13 July 2012. [Publication: The Benefits of Wetland Restoration]