The 52nd Meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee in Gland, Switzerland.

image001On the 16th of June the Standing Committee (SC) announced the designation of Martha Rojas Urrego, from Colombia, as the new Ramsar Secretary General. Her CV can be consultated here.

More info on Ramsar website article The Ramsar Convention appoints Martha Rojas-Urrego as new Secretary General

The MedWet Coordinator coincided with Martha Rojas when she was working at IUCN and have maintained very good personal relations. Thus, it is hope that with Ms Rojas at the helm, the cooperation between MedWet and the Ramsar Secretariat will be improved and be more effective.

So far, the SC adopted, after a delay of several months, the work plan of the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel (SRTP). A good plan, with which the MedWet Scientific and Technical Network should be aligned as much as possible.

The Committee also took decisions about Ramsar COP13 to be held in the United Arab Emirates on 21-29 October 2018. MedWet announced at the meeting its intention to organize the Mediterranean Agora 2 at this COP and requested the cooperation of the host country to do so. The UAE delegation assured MedWet of its full support.

Problems arose with the drafting of revised Operational Guidelines for the Ramsar Regional Initiatives, with some countries being adamant that the issue of the legal status of the Regional Initiatives should not be included in the Guidelines. The issue should be resolved in the very last session of the meeting.