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Casey Stevens - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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When implementation works: A comparison of Ramsar Convention implementation in different continents
Environmental Science & Policy, 2015Co-Authors: Volker Mauerhofer, Casey StevensAbstract:Abstract What are the processes that shape implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in multilevel governance? In an attempt to address this question, we move from a top-down view of implementation as compliance with international rules to viewing it as a dynamic process shaped by action at various levels. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands offers an important context to understand the mechanisms that shape multilevel implementation outcomes. We examine Ramsar Convention implementation in Austria, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea in order to identify relevant processes that define multilevel implementation. These cases represent three different types of government, and shed light on the ways in which international law is implemented by respective governments. The Austrian case, a federal government, illustrates the ways in which subnational authorities (the provinces) are influenced by binding regional institutions (EU-rules) to create a more robust context for protection in terms of designation of Ramsar sites. The Mexican case, a semi-federal government, shows how spurred involvement by local NGOs, states, and scientists can result in significant expansion of efforts. The Korean case, a unitary government, demonstrates the ways in which aligning institutional interests (in this case local governments with national ministries) can lead to strong implementation. Analysis of these cases provides two robust findings and one deserving additional study. First, overlapping governance efforts where activity has ties with multiple regional and international biodiversity efforts tend to see cumulative implementation. Second, institutional and organizational complexity can provide opportunities for local actors to drive the implementation agenda through a mix of processes of coordination and contentious politics. A third, more tentative finding, is that multilevel funding sources can ease implementation.
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when implementation works a comparison of Ramsar Convention implementation in different continents
Environmental Science & Policy, 2015Co-Authors: Volker Mauerhofer, Casey StevensAbstract:What are the processes that shape implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in multilevel governance? In an attempt to address this question, we move from a top-down view of im ...
Volker Mauerhofer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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When implementation works: A comparison of Ramsar Convention implementation in different continents
Environmental Science & Policy, 2015Co-Authors: Volker Mauerhofer, Casey StevensAbstract:Abstract What are the processes that shape implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in multilevel governance? In an attempt to address this question, we move from a top-down view of implementation as compliance with international rules to viewing it as a dynamic process shaped by action at various levels. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands offers an important context to understand the mechanisms that shape multilevel implementation outcomes. We examine Ramsar Convention implementation in Austria, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea in order to identify relevant processes that define multilevel implementation. These cases represent three different types of government, and shed light on the ways in which international law is implemented by respective governments. The Austrian case, a federal government, illustrates the ways in which subnational authorities (the provinces) are influenced by binding regional institutions (EU-rules) to create a more robust context for protection in terms of designation of Ramsar sites. The Mexican case, a semi-federal government, shows how spurred involvement by local NGOs, states, and scientists can result in significant expansion of efforts. The Korean case, a unitary government, demonstrates the ways in which aligning institutional interests (in this case local governments with national ministries) can lead to strong implementation. Analysis of these cases provides two robust findings and one deserving additional study. First, overlapping governance efforts where activity has ties with multiple regional and international biodiversity efforts tend to see cumulative implementation. Second, institutional and organizational complexity can provide opportunities for local actors to drive the implementation agenda through a mix of processes of coordination and contentious politics. A third, more tentative finding, is that multilevel funding sources can ease implementation.
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when implementation works a comparison of Ramsar Convention implementation in different continents
Environmental Science & Policy, 2015Co-Authors: Volker Mauerhofer, Casey StevensAbstract:What are the processes that shape implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in multilevel governance? In an attempt to address this question, we move from a top-down view of im ...
Nick C Davidson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Ecosystems and human well-being: wetlands and water synthesis
2020Co-Authors: Max Finlayson, Nick C Davidson, R.d. Cruz, J. Alder, S. Cork, R.s. De Groot, C. Lévêque, G.r. Milton, Garry D. Peterson, D PritchardAbstract:The Wetlands and Water synthesis was designed for the Ramsar Convention to meet the need for information about the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and sought to strengthen the link between scientific knowledge and decision-making for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
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a review of the adequacy of reporting to the Ramsar Convention on change in the ecological character of wetlands
Marine and Freshwater Research, 2020Co-Authors: Ania Grobicki, Nick C Davidson, L Dinesen, S Fennessy, Colin Finlayson, P Grillas, R J Mcinnes, David A StroudAbstract:We review the mechanisms established by the Ramsar Convention for reporting on the status and change in the ecological character of wetlands. We assess the extent of their implementation and compliance, but not issues of the adequacy of their design nor the consequences of their extent of implementation. We conclude that, with the exception of qualitative national-scale reporting in triennial Contracting Party National Reports, there is inadequate implementation and compliance with most of these mechanisms, notably concerning required reporting under Article 3.2 of the Convention and the updating of the Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS). This limits the ability of the Convention to assess the status, and trends in status, of designated Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), and to inform future decision-making and priority-setting for the wise use of all wetlands. As has been recognised by the Ramsar Convention, unless compliance with these mechanisms is improved, sufficient information will not be gathered through the mechanisms of Ramsar Convention to assess fully the Sustainable Development Goal 6.6.1 indicator supported by the Convention on change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time.
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Trends in the ecological character of the world’s wetlands
Marine and Freshwater Research, 2019Co-Authors: Nick C Davidson, L Dinesen, S Fennessy, Colin Finlayson, P Grillas, R J Mcinnes, A. Grobicki, David A StroudAbstract:We assessed trends in the ecological character of wetlands generally and of Ramsar Sites reported in 2011, 2014 and 2017 by the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in their national reports. There was more widespread deterioration than improvement in the ecological character of wetlands generally, with deterioration increasingly more widespread between 2011 and 2017. The ecological-character trends in Ramsar Sites were significantly better than those of wetlands generally, but an increasingly more widespread deterioration of ecological character was reported between 2011 and 2017. Trends in the ecological character of wetlands generally, and of Ramsar Sites were worst in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, and recently also in Oceania, and better in North America and Europe. Deterioration in the ecological character of Ramsar Site was more widespread in countries with a large average area of their Ramsar Sites. This information on trends of wetland ecological character can contribute to assessing the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Target 6.6 and Aichi Biodiversity Target 5. Our analysis indicated that the 1971 aim of the Ramsar Convention to stem the degradation of wetlands has not yet been achieved.
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Editorial: Understanding change in the ecological character of internationally important wetlands
Marine and Freshwater Research, 2016Co-Authors: Nick C DavidsonAbstract:The origins of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands lie in the increasing concern expressed during the 1960s over the rapid drainage, conversion and degradation of wetlands, particularly in Europe and North America, and its impacts on wetland biodiversity, specificallymigratorywaterbirds (Matthews 1993), as the full legal title of the Convention (‘Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’) conveys. Those pioneeringwaterbird scientistswho championed the call for an international agreement between governments to address thispressing issuewere remarkably far-sightedand inspirational in their visionofwhatwas needed, andhelpedcraft aConvention text that has stood the test of time. The Convention text not only recognises the need to conserve wetlands for the biodiversity that depends upon them.Very importantly (andway ahead of its time), it also recognises the ‘interdependence of Man and his environment’, and that ‘wetlands constitute a resource of great economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value, the loss ofwhichwould be irreparable’ – a resource whose importance has only become more widely recognised in the last 10 years, and which we nowadays call ‘ecosystem services’ (MA 2003). After years of negotiation and discussion, that Convention text was agreed and signed in the city of Ramsar, Iran, in February 1971, making the Ramsar Convention the first of the modern global intergovernmental environmental agreements (Matthews 1993; Gardner and Davidson 2011). In the adopted Convention text, the Convention’s Contracting Parties (member governments) expressed their desire to ‘stem the loss and degradation of wetlands now and in the future’ – something that has proved to be a very challenging desire over the past 45 years since its adoption, given that recent evidence indicates that wetlands are continuing to be destroyed, and in some regions faster than ever (Davidson 2014),with,30%of the area ofwetlands that existed in 1970 now lost (Dixon et al. 2016). At the heart of the Convention is the commitment of Contracting Parties to the ‘wise use’ of all wetlands, with the mechanism to achieve wise use of wetlands being the maintenance of their ‘ecological character’ by all concerned.Originally, ecological character maintenance was a commitment specifically focussed on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) designated by Contracting Parties, but since 2005 this undertaking has been recognised as applying equally to all wetlands, whether Ramsar Sites or not (Ramsar Convention 2005; Pittock et al. 2010). The Convention describes ecological character as ‘the combination of the ecosystem components, processes and benefits/ services that characterise the wetland at a given point in time’ (Ramsar Convention 2005). From an ecological perspective it is implicit in that description that all wetlands do for one or other reason change their character over time, whether that change is through ‘natural’ vegetational succession, change in climatic conditions or through the (often damaging) actions of people. However, there is a strong sense from the way in which some parts of the Convention text were worded almost half a century ago, and subsequently in many adopted decisions, that the thinking at that time was to manage wetlands to maintain a stasis of their ecological character, often at that time, for the primary purpose of wetland species conservation. Since 1971 the Convention has adopted a considerable body of scientific and technical advice and guidance on wise use and ecological character maintenance (Ramsar Convention Secretariat 2010a; b), prepared at the request of Contracting Parties by the Convention’s subsidiary body, the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP). However, there remain some significant gaps in the available guidance, and this has led to confusion and ambiguity concerning what ecological character to maintain for a wetland, a problem often compounded by a lack of knowledge of the extent of short-and longer-term variability in the character of a wetland. For example, when a wetland is designated as a Ramsar Site the designation requires an Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands to be completed, which includes a description of the site’s ecological character at the time of the designation (or rather, given the administrative processes concerned, at some time before the designation is completed). This requirement is simply a description of the character at that time and no more than that, not least because the precise date of designation of a Ramsar Site is largely politically and administratively (not ecologically) determined. That ecological character description is intended to help informmanagement planning, butmay not necessarily be the ecological character that must be the objective of management planning implementation. However, some Parties seem to have interpreted this requirement as being the ecological character to maintain for all time, through management. This is erroneous, not least since a Ramsar Site is not required to be pristine at the time of its designation, so maintaining such a wetland degraded by, for example, pollution in its polluted state would be a nonsense. The decision by the CSIRO PUBLISHING
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the Ramsar Convention
2011Co-Authors: Royal C Gardner, Nick C DavidsonAbstract:This chapter examines the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the global intergovernmental treaty that promotes wetland conservation worldwide. When one is studying or seeking to protect a particular wetland, it is important to look beyond the wetland’s delineated borders. As discussed in Chap. 1, the health of a wetland is influenced by its placement in the landscape, the ecosystem services it provides, and the activities that occur within its watershed (e.g., development, agriculture). Focusing solely on the wetland site may result in missing the bigger picture. Similarly, when studying wetland policies, it is instructive to look beyond domestic regimes (i.e., national and local laws and policies) and consider global wetland policies. Parties to the Ramsar Convention address this through three main pillars of implementation: the ‘wise use’ of all wetlands, the designation and management of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), and international cooperation on management of shared resources and sharing of knowledge and information.
Diego Fernández-prieto - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Monitoring and assessment of wetlands using Earth Observation: The GlobWetland project
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009Co-Authors: Kevin Jones, Yannick Lanthier, Paul Van Der Voet, Eric Van Valkengoed, Doug Taylor, Diego Fernández-prietoAbstract:The overall objective of the Ramsar Convention, signed in 1971, is the conservation and wise use of wetlands by national action and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development. This complex and challenging task requires national, local and international bodies involved in the implementation of the Convention to rely on suitable geo-information to better understand wetland areas, complete national inventories, perform monitoring activities, carry out assessments and put in practice suitable management plans based on updated and reliable information. In the last years, Earth Observation (EO) technology has been revealed as a key tool and unique information source to support the environmental community in different application domains, including wetlands' conservation and management. In this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Ramsar Secretariat launched in 2003 the "GlobWetland" project in order to demonstrate the current capabilities of Earth Observation technology to support inventorying, monitoring, and assessment of wetland ecosystems. This paper collects the main results and findings of the "GlobWetland" project, providing an overview of the current capabilities and limits of EO technology as a tool to support the implementation of the Ramsar Convention. The project was carried out in collaboration with several regional, national and local conservation authorities and wetland managers, involving 50 different wetlands across 21 countries on four continents. This large range of users provided an excellent test bed to assess the potential of this technology to be applied in different technical, economic and social conditions. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The role of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in supporting implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009Co-Authors: H. Mackay, Diego Fernández-prieto, CLAUDE MALCOLM FINLAYSON, D Pritchard, N. Davidson, Lisa Maria RebeloAbstract:Over one hundred wetland specialists and Earth Observation experts from around the world gathered at the European Space Agency's 'GlobWetland Symposium: Looking at wetlands from space' in Frascati, Italy, from 19 to 20 October, 2006. The aim of the Symposium was to stimulate discussion between the two communities by reviewing the latest developments in Earth Observation (EO) for the inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands and identify key scientific, technical and policy-relevant challenges for the future. The results provide an overview of the key areas of current research in the use of EO for mapping and managing wetlands, while also pointing out gaps that could hinder global inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the main outputs with a focus on the role of EO technologies in supporting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The summary contains a qualitative analysis of the state of the art and considers possible directions and priorities for future research, development and application of EO-based technologies in wetland management. In this context we: 1) highlight those applications where EO technologies are ready for wider uptake by wetland managers, and provide suggestions for supporting such uptake; 2) indicate where EO technologies and applications currently in the research and development stages could potentially be useful in wetland management; and 3) provide recommendations for new research and development of EO technologies, that can be utilized to address aspects of wetland management not covered by the range of current EO applications. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Monitoring and assessment of wetlands using Earth Observation: the GlobWetland project.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2008Co-Authors: Kevin C. Jones, Yannick Lanthier, Doug Taylor, Paul Van Der Voet, Eric Van Valkengoed, Diego Fernández-prietoAbstract:The overall objective of the Ramsar Convention, signed in 1971, is the conservation and wise use of wetlands by national action and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development. This complex and challenging task requires national, local and international bodies involved in the implementation of the Convention to rely on suitable geo-information to better understand wetland areas, complete national inventories, perform monitoring activities, carry out assessments and put in practice suitable management plans based on updated and reliable information. In the last years, Earth Observation (EO) technology has been revealed as a key tool and unique information source to support the environmental community in different application domains, including wetlands' conservation and management. In this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Ramsar Secretariat launched in 2003 the “GlobWetland” project in order to demonstrate the current capabilities of Earth Observation technology to support inventorying, monitoring, and assessment of wetland ecosystems. This paper collects the main results and findings of the “GlobWetland” project, providing an overview of the current capabilities and limits of EO technology as a tool to support the implementation of the Ramsar Convention. The project was carried out in collaboration with several regional, national and local conservation authorities and wetland managers, involving 50 different wetlands across 21 countries on four continents. This large range of users provided an excellent test bed to assess the potential of this technology to be applied in different technical, economic and social conditions.
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Earth observation supporting multilateral environmental agreements: the initiatives of the european space agency
IGARSS 2003. 2003 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37477), 2003Co-Authors: Olivier Arino, Diego Fernández-prieto, M. Paganini, Espen Volden, F. Martin SeifertAbstract:The European Space Agency (ESA) is carrying out a number of initiatives aimed at exploring and demonstrating the capabilities of EO technology to support the implementation of key environmental Conventions (e.g., UNFCCC, UNCCD, UNCBD, Ramsar Convention). This paper provides an overview of the main projects that the European Space Agency is carrying out within the context of this important topic as well as the
Lisa Maria Rebelo - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Challenges to the integration of wetlands into IWRM: The case of the Inner Niger Delta (Mali) and the Lobau Floodplain (Austria)
Environmental Science & Policy, 2013Co-Authors: Lisa Maria Rebelo, Robyn M. Johnston, Thomas Hein, Gabriele Weigelhofer, Tom Dhaeyer, B. Kone, Jan CoolsAbstract:Wetlands are too often perceived as standalone elements and are poorly integrated into river basin management. The Ramsar Convention recognizes the critical linkage between wetlands, water and river basin management; the governments that are party to the Convention have committed to conserving their wetlands within a framework of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The “Critical Path” approach and related guidance have been adopted by Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention in order to effectively integrate wetland conservation and management into river basin management planning and decision-making. However, despite international acceptance of the approach, it is not widely implemented. This paper provides one of the first case study based assessments of the Critical Path approach. The analysis of two contrasting Ramsar sites is presented in order to better understand the barriers to implementation in different development contexts. These are the Lobau wetland in Austria, where management institutions and regulatory frameworks are highly developed; and the Inner Niger Delta in Mali, where the capacity to implement IWRM is less evolved. A planning approach is proposed which involves structured and transparent methods for assessing ecosystem services and institutional capacity, and is suitable as a tool for identifying, prioritizing and negotiating trade-offs in ecosystem services and improving livelihoods. Based on the analysis, two main barriers to implementation are identified; mismatch between local and national or basin level priorities, and a lack of recognition of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands.
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the role of earth observation eo technologies in supporting implementation of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009Co-Authors: H. Mackay, D Pritchard, Nick C Davidson, Colin Finlayson, Diego Fernandezprieto, Lisa Maria RebeloAbstract:Abstract Over one hundred wetland specialists and Earth Observation experts from around the world gathered at the European Space Agency's ‘GlobWetland Symposium: Looking at wetlands from space’ in Frascati, Italy, from 19 to 20 October, 2006. The aim of the Symposium was to stimulate discussion between the two communities by reviewing the latest developments in Earth Observation (EO) for the inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands and identify key scientific, technical and policy-relevant challenges for the future. The results provide an overview of the key areas of current research in the use of EO for mapping and managing wetlands, while also pointing out gaps that could hinder global inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the main outputs with a focus on the role of EO technologies in supporting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The summary contains a qualitative analysis of the state of the art and considers possible directions and priorities for future research, development and application of EO-based technologies in wetland management. In this context we: 1) highlight those applications where EO technologies are ready for wider uptake by wetland managers, and provide suggestions for supporting such uptake; 2) indicate where EO technologies and applications currently in the research and development stages could potentially be useful in wetland management; and 3) provide recommendations for new research and development of EO technologies, that can be utilized to address aspects of wetland management not covered by the range of current EO applications.
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The role of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in supporting implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009Co-Authors: H. Mackay, Diego Fernández-prieto, CLAUDE MALCOLM FINLAYSON, D Pritchard, N. Davidson, Lisa Maria RebeloAbstract:Over one hundred wetland specialists and Earth Observation experts from around the world gathered at the European Space Agency's 'GlobWetland Symposium: Looking at wetlands from space' in Frascati, Italy, from 19 to 20 October, 2006. The aim of the Symposium was to stimulate discussion between the two communities by reviewing the latest developments in Earth Observation (EO) for the inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands and identify key scientific, technical and policy-relevant challenges for the future. The results provide an overview of the key areas of current research in the use of EO for mapping and managing wetlands, while also pointing out gaps that could hinder global inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the main outputs with a focus on the role of EO technologies in supporting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The summary contains a qualitative analysis of the state of the art and considers possible directions and priorities for future research, development and application of EO-based technologies in wetland management. In this context we: 1) highlight those applications where EO technologies are ready for wider uptake by wetland managers, and provide suggestions for supporting such uptake; 2) indicate where EO technologies and applications currently in the research and development stages could potentially be useful in wetland management; and 3) provide recommendations for new research and development of EO technologies, that can be utilized to address aspects of wetland management not covered by the range of current EO applications. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
