Summary
On Tuesday, the COP13 met in plenary throughout the day to address organizational matters and consider reports. Plenary elected: Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, as COP13 President; Mohamed Saif Al Afkham, Director General, Fujairah Municipality, UAE, as Alternate President; and Kristina Niikkonen, Finland, and Paul Mafabi, Uganda, as Vice Presidents.Delegates heard reports related to:
- work of the Standing Committee (SC);
- global implementation of the Convention and other work of the Secretariat;
- the List of Wetlands of International Importance;
- implementation of the Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA) Programme;
- work of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP); and
- finance and budgetary matters.
The day concluded with the presentation of the Global Wetland Outlook. Key highlights included:
- the critical role wetlands play in providing valuable ecosystem services;
- increasing accuracy of global wetland area data;
- loss of 35% of wetland sites since 1970;
- decline in populations of wetland-dependent species, including 25% of animal and plant species at risk of extinction;
- negative trends of water quality; and
- insights on the way forward, including enhancing the network of Ramsar sites, integrating wetlands into the post-2015 development agenda, capacity building, and action at national and local levels.
A working group was organized to progress work during COP13 on finance and budget.Key takeaways included:
- significant efforts by the Secretariat to address identified challenges;
- complementary work of the STRP and CEPA Programme; and the
- sobering, yet compelling messages of the Global Wetland Outlook.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided a curtain raiser, daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis report from COP13.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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