MedWet participation at the 3rd Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors in Dongying, China

Urban and peri-urban wetlands provide essential ecosystem services for cities, such as flood control, water purification, and climate regulation, etc, making their protection crucial. Cities must take an active role in preserving and restoring these wetlands to ensure a sustainable urban future. By creating a network of cities committed to wetland conservation, we can facilitate the sharing of experiences, promote collaboration, and strengthen efforts to safeguard these valuable ecosystems for the long term.

Chris Rostron, MedWet Coordinator, spent the week of the 14th to the 17th October in China, at Dongying City for the Wetland City Accreditation meeting. The meeting was hosted by Dongying City and the Ramsar Regional Centre East Asia (RRC-EA) on the mighty Yellow River estuary, Shandong. It started off with a meeting of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) for the Wetland Accreditation Scheme (WAS), reviewing the next batch of Wetland City applications, looking at how we can improve the process and planning for the next conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Wetland Convention.

 

Meeting of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) for the Wetland Accreditation Scheme. Photo: ©RRC-EA

 

There then followed the 3rd roundtable meeting of the Wetland City Mayors, hosted by Dongying. Amiens city (France) was the previous chair, and passed this over to Dongying during the 2nd formal gathering of wetland city mayors from across the world from June 8 to 10, 2023 in Amiens.

Approximately 220 global experts and representatives engaged in two days of technical and policy discussions, followed by a field trip to the Shandong Yellow River Delta Ramsar Site, an important migratory waterbird staging and wintering area. Mayors and officials also deliberated on the “Wetland City Network Action Plan 2025-2028,” focusing on network activities, membership guidelines, and other key matters.

 

 

During the event, Chris Rostron presented MedWet’s multi-scale approach to Mediterranean wetland conservation. With over 50% of Mediterranean wetlands destroyed in the last 50 years and many remaining wetlands degraded, MedWet is dedicated to advocating for the protection of these crucial yet vulnerable ecosystems.

 

 

Currently, there are 9 accredited Wetland Cities in the Mediterranean that have taken concrete actions to protect their wetlands for both nature and people. To connect these Wetland Cities, MedWet is working to promote the Wetland City Accreditation program through webinars and by establishing twinning programs, both within and beyond the region.

With the support of the French Biodiversity Agency, MedWet and Association Ramsar France, are supporting the RRC-EA and formed a working group to encourage cities near wetlands to strengthen their ties with these vital ecosystems and raise public awareness.

We had five representatives from two wetland cities in the MedWet countries at the event:

  • Amiens (France),the current Chair of the Wetland City Network: Florence Rodinger, Deputy Mayor, and Julien Lazlo, Environment Department; and
  • Ifrane (Morocco): Khadija Ait Kaddour, Head of the Environment Department of the Province of Ifrance, Dr Oussama Belloulid, Freshwater Program Officer and Yousra Madani, Director of Living Planet Morocco.

 

Chris Rostron, MedWet Coordinator, with the Amiens city representatives

 

Chris Rostron with the Ifrane city representatives

 

MedWet used this event as an opportunity to hear from key participants on topics related to Wetland City Accreditation, the Ramsar Regional Initiatives, and wetland conservation efforts in general. Watch their insights below.

 

Chris Rostron, MedWet Coordinator, and Jay Aldous, Deputy Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands, talk about the power of Wetland City Accreditation and its role in driving positive action at local levels.

 

Chris Rostron discusses with SUH Seung Oh from the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA) about its crucial role in promoting Wetland City Accreditation and organizing impactful events like the 3rd Mayor’s Roundtable, where decision-makers come together to shape the future of Wetland Cities.

 

Florence Rodin, Deputy Mayor of Amiens, and Julien Laszlo, Head of the Environmental Service, talk to Chris Rostron about their experience at the 3rd Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors.

 

Khadija Ait kaddour, focal point for the town of Ifrane, Morocco’s first Wetlands Town, shares her experience, underlining the importance of this meeting to collaborate and support new applications for the label.

 

Photo: ©RRC-EA