Seminar on the role
of ecosystems as water suppliers
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The Seminar on the role of ecosystems as water suppliers took place on 13 and 14 December 2004 in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, at the invitation of the Government of Switzerland
(see press release).
The Seminar brought together policy and decision makers, lawyers, economists, managers, technical
experts, representatives from the private sector and NGOs, specialized in water management,
forestry, landscape and nature conservation, etc. (see list
of participants)
The Seminar was prepared by the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape
and the UNECE secretariat of the Water Convention, in close cooperation with that of the 1971
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Cooperation has been sought with the UNECE Timber Committee,
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) European Forestry Commission
and its Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds, and the Ministerial Conference
on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE).
The Seminar provided a platform for governmental officials to meet experts from international
organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and share knowledge
on the role of forests and wetlands in the water cycle and the advantages related to
their sustainable use, protection and restoration to ensure sustainable water management and
therefore sustainable development. It documented experience within and outside the UNECE region
on best practices and concrete implementation measures aiming at integrating forests and
wetlands in sustainable water management.
To this aim Mr. Philippe Roch, Swiss State Secretary, had addressed a letter to the Ministers
of Environment, Forestry and Agriculture in the UNECE region inviting them to submit national
report on the practical experience of integration of forests and wetlands in water management.
The Seminar lead to recommendations to promote integrated policies and strategies and facilitate
their implementation. The recommendations will be presented at the thirteenth session
of the Commission on Sustainable Development (New York, 11-22 April 2005) and submitted
for adoption to the Parties to the Water Convention at their fourth meeting in 2006. The Seminar
fostered the development of concrete joint activities at international, regional, transboundary,
national and local levels, and to be considered at the ninth meeting of the Conference of
the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (Kampala, 7-15 November 2005).
Moreover, in 2005, a second seminar focusing on environmental services and financing for
the protection and sustainable use of ecosystems will be organized, specifically devoted to
the economic and financial dimensions. It intends to explore the experience of solidarity
between upstream and downstream communities, specifically considering the practice of protecting
and sustainably using ecosystems (forests and wetlands) by means of innovative economic
tools such as payments for environmental services through successful public-private partnerships
and public-public partnerships.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS
| Integrated mountain watershed management in the Alps - Future needs, Mr. Peter Greminger, Swiss Forest Agency |
|
| Protection and restoration of water-related ecosystems: the role of wetlands, Mr. Tobias
Salathe, Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands |
English (3.2 MB) |
| Protection of water-related ecosystems in Belarus, Mr. Nikolay Bambalov, National
Academy of Science, Minsk |
Russian (3.7 MB) |
| Balancing water needs: the experience of the IUCN Water and Nature Initiative, Ms.
Danile Perrot-Matre, World Conservation Union (IUCN) |
English (3.6 MB) |
| Institutional opportunities for an integrated approach, Mr. Douglas McGuire, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |
English (430 KB) |
| Creating markets for ecosystem services, Mr. Gonzalo Castro, Global Environment
Facility (GEF) |
English (7.3 MB) |
| Sustainable water management through ecosystem protection: An effective interface of international
legal regimes? Mr. Sergei Vinogradov, University of Dundee (United Kingdom) |
English (3.9 MB) |
| Water-related ecosystems conservation in Armenia and perspectives for transboundary conservation,
Mr. Karen Jenderedjian, Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands |
English (15 MB) |
| Draft conclusions and recommendations (please note that the conclusions and
recommendations will be finalizedin the seminar report which should be ready by January 2005) |
English (50 KB) |
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
Below are made available the official seminar documents.
| MP.WAT/SEM.4/2004/1 |
Programme of the seminar - First announcement and call for discussion papers |
English |
Russian |
French |
| MP.WAT/SEM.4/2004/2 |
Agenda |
English only |
| MP.WAT/SEM.4/2004/4 |
Water-related ecosystems: features, functions and the need for a holistic approach to ecosystem protection and restoration |
English |
Russian |
French |
Letter sent by Mr. P. Roch inviting UNECE countries
to submit national report on the practical experience
of integration of forests and wetlands in water
management (including report outline). |
English |
Russian |
|
BOOKLET
On the basis of the seminar outcome and recommendations, a booklet on "Nature
for water: protecting water-related ecosystems for sustainable development" was prepared for the
thirteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The booklet and the seminar conclusions
were presented at a special event of CSD-13, organized in cooperation with the secretariat of the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands and the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape.
NATIONAL REPORTS
Below are made available the national reports as submitted
to the UNECE secretariat.
DISCUSSION PAPERS
Below are made available the discussion papers as
submitted to the UNECE secretariat.
From the Mountains to the Sea - Focus on Vital Links in the Catchment Basin
Tobias Salathé, Ramsar Convention Secretariat |
English |
Kyrgyzstan and the Ramsar Convention: problems, implementation and future steps
Muratbek Baihodjoev, International University of Kyrgyzstan |
Russian |
Integrated approach to the decision of water problems: public participation. The Russian experience
and offers
Olga Podosenova, Ural Ecological Union |
English
Russian |
Laws and regulations concerning some of the ecosystems that determine the formation of water resources
in the Russian Federation
Nikolay Grishin, Agency ECOTERRA |
Russian |
Ecosystems of the rivers in the Aral Sea basin: existing and expected impacts
Yusup Kamalov, Union for Defense the Aral Sea and Amudarya |
Russian |
Some ideas about IWRM implementation in Central Asia
Prof. Victor Dukhovny, Dr. Vadim Sokolov, Dinara Ziganshina, Scientific-Information
Centre of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination |
English |
The role of ecosystems of Azerbaijan - forests and wetlands - as water suppliers
Rafig Verdiyev, ECORES NGO |
English |
Central Asia mountain ecosystems
Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia |
English |
Partnership on implementation of the Central Asian sustainable
development initiative
|
English
Russian |
Protection
and use of surface and artesian waters on transboundary
basin of Georgia and Azerbaijan
Prof.
G. Buachidze, Georgian Academy of Sciences |
Russian |