European Union

Delegates from Canada, the EU, Kenya, the Philippines, and the US consulting on the resolution on intertidal wetlands During the morning and afternoon of COP13’s last day, plenary adopted the remaining 11 resolutions, on: financial and budgetary matters; enhancing the Convention’s implementation, visibility, and synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements; Ramsar Regional Initiatives 2019-2021 and their operational framework; future implementation of scientific and technical aspects of the Convention for 2019-2021; promoting conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of coastal blue carbon ecosystems; cultural values, indigenous peoples and local communities, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in wetlands; rapid assessment of wetland ecosystem services; sustainable agriculture in wetlands; promoting the conservation and wise use of intertidal wetlands and ecologically associated habitats; wetlands in West Asia; and wetlands in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. Delegates adopted one more resolution acknowledging and thanking the UAE for hosting COP13. Representatives from the Youth Engaged in Wetlands called on parties and all stakeholders to empower youth to actively participate in wetlands issues, and proposed “Youth in Wetlands” as the COP14 theme. COP13 President Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, thanked delegates and organizers for their collaboration and team spirit at COP13, which was gaveled to a close at 4:36pm.Key takeaways from COP13 included: a step-by-step plan and timetable for including Arabic as the fourth official Convention language; a consensus approach and deft negotiations demonstrating that parties can reach agreement, even on politically sensitive issues, such as cooperation on wise use of wetlands in West Asia; and the launch of the Global Wetland Outlook as a significant accomplishment of both the STRP and CEPA Programme, underscoring the urgency and scale of work needed to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Please return to this site on 1 November for the Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of Ramsar COP13. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham and Marwa Al Amiri, UAE Serge Hervé Ondoua, Cameroon Simon Malete, South Africa L-R: Rita Khanna and Manju Pandey, India L-R: Cheryl Case and David Stroud, UK L-R: María José Viñals and Magdalena Bernues Sanz, Spain Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Hela Guidara, Tunisia Barbara De Rosa-Joynt, US Tricia Lovell, Antigua and Barbuda Monique Curtis, Jamaica Gert Michael Steiner, Austria Cynthia Silva Maturana, Bolivia Mark Taylor, Australia Daniel Nicer, the Philippines Anayeli Cabrera Murrieta, Mexico Yoshiko Motoyama, Japan Karen Jenderedjian, Armenia Pedro Julio Ruiz Hernandez, Cuba Abdou Salam Kane, Senegal Joon-woo Seo, Republic of Korea Subutay Yüksel, Turkey COP13 Vice President Paul Mafabi, Uganda, at the African Region consultations L-R: Jonathan Barzdo, Ramsar Deputy Secretary General; Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General; COP13 Vice President Kristiina Niikkonen, Finland; and COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham   L-R: COP13 Vice President Paul Mafabi, Uganda; COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham; and COP13 Vice President Kristiina Niikkonen, Finland Delegates from the Latin America and the Caribbean Group consulting Delegates from the US, Iran and Iraq, consulting L-R: Takuma Satoh and Anne Valentina Bourbon, Youth Engaged in Wetlands Salomón Botero Bermudez, one of the youngest COP13 participants L-R: Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General; COP13 President Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE; and COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General Jonathan Barzdo, Ramsar Deputy Secretary General COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham COP13 President Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi COP13 President Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi gaveled the meeting to a close at 4:36 pm  

The dais during the morning plenary session 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, assumes the COP13 presidency from Jorge Rucks, Vice Minister of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, Uruguay COP13 President Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE Jorge Rucks, Vice Minister of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, Uruguay Jonathan Barzdo, Ramsar Deputy Secretary General Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General L-R: Jonathan Barzdo, Ramsar Deputy Secretary General; Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General; and COP13 Alternate President Mohamed Saif Al Afkham, Director General, Fujairah Municipality, UAE Günter Liebel, Austria for the EU Nancy Cespedes, Chile Serge Hervé Ondoua, Cameroon Barbara De Rosa-Joynt, US Yoshiko Motoyama, Japan Raed Bani-Hani, Jordan Ali Mansoor Abbas Abdulla, Bahrain Cai Lyu, China Maia Sarrouf Wilson, World Wetland Network Mark Taylor, Australia, CEPA Oversight Panel Chair Royal Gardner, STRP Chair, presenting the STRP report to COP13   Martha Rojas Urrego, Ramsar Secretary General, introducing the Global Wetland Outlook to COP 13 Royal Gardner, STRP Chair Tobias Salathé, Ramsar Secretariat Abdou Salam Kane, Senegal, Chair, Finance Subgroup Max Finlayson, STRP Scientific Expert