Water

Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. -1 of 74 BACK | NEXT Home Page of Dams and Development Foreword I. Why an e-paper on dams and development? II. Assessing options III. Participatory processes IV. Social impacts V. Environmental impacts VI. Benefit distribution VII. Dam safety and sustainability VIII. Existing projects IX. Improving governance X. What other organizations say XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

Ramsar Wetlands Convention

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. As of August 2004, there were 140 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1374 wetland sites, totaling 121.4 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

"The Convention's mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world" (Ramsar COP8, 2002).

The Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP8), took place on 18-26 November 2002, in Valencia, Spain during which a technical session to discuss "The Report of the World Commission on Dams and its relevance to Ramsar" was arranged. Resolution VIII.2 on WCD was adopted by the participants. Article 10 of the Resolution:

'ENCOURAGES Contracting Parties faced with managing or assessing the impact of dams on sensitive riverine and wetland ecosystems, to use, where appropriate, all available information, including information provided by the WCD, in association with the relevant guidance adopted by the Ramsar Convention to inform and guide local and national processes for allocation of water resources and decision-making, in order to ensure that wetlands and their values and functions are fully taken into account in decision-making on large dams; '

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