The Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) is pleased to invite nominations of suitably-qualified wetland scientific and technical experts to be appointed to serve as Chairperson and members of the Convention’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) for the 2013-2015 triennium.

The deadline for the submission of nominations to the Ramsar Secretariat is 30 November 2012. Transmission of nominations by e-mail is requested. Nominations should be sent to the Ramsar Secretariat’s Scientific & Technical Support Officer, Monica Zavagli (email: zavagli[at]ramsar.org).

The first meeting of the STRP for the 2013-2015 triennium will be the Panel’s 17th meeting, scheduled to take place from Monday 25 February to Friday 1 March 2013, in Gland, Switzerland.

Under the STRP modus operandi as adjusted by COP11 Resolution XI.18, nominations are sought from the Convention’s national Administrative Authorities, STRP National Focal Points (NFPs) and the current members and observer organizations (including the Chair, Vice-Chair and IOP members) of the Panel. Appointments to the Panel will be made by the STRP Oversight Committee in December 2012.

The Chairperson of the STRP for the 2013-2015 triennium will be appointed as a supernumerary post, i.e. as an additional appointment to the 13 appointed expert members for this cycle. The Vice-Chairperson of the Panel will be appointed from amongst these 13 appointed members.

The members and Chairperson of the Panel are appointed for their expertise in their own right, and are not appointed as a representative of their institution, organization, country, region or any other entity.

As set out in the information at the bottom of this page, for a nomination to be considered administratively complete, the person being nominated should complete and sign the “Nominee’s form” (see Annex 2, bottom of page). This should be sent to the Ramsar Secretariat by the person or organization making the nomination, together with a completed “Nominator’s recommendation form” (see Annex 1) setting out the experience and expertise of the candidate and the relevance of this to the anticipated priority work of the Panel for the 2013-2015 triennium.

More than one nomination can be made by a person or organization. Nominations are not restricted to being made for people from the same country of origin or domicile as the nominator. So as to ensure continuity in the work of the Panel, nominations can be made for the re-appointment of current (2009-2012) members of the Panel.

As is current practice, all efforts possible will be made to ensure that there is geographic regional balance and gender balance amongst the members appointed to the Panel. To achieve this it is essential that all organizations and persons responsible for making nominations make every effort possible to nominate high-quality suitably qualified candidates from all parts of the world, and both male and female candidates, so that the Panel selected is in an position to prepare the best quality scientific and technical advice possible for the Convention.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

By Prof Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General – 23 October 2012.

» Guidance note for nominators and nominees [PDF]

» Annex 1: Nominator’s recommendation form [Word doc]

» Annex 2: Nominee’s form [Word doc]

Source: Ramsar Convention website