Accord to promote wise use of wetlands
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation have signed an agreement in Seychelles to help countries that use their water ecosystems wisely.
The signing was an activity to celebrate the first World Wetlands Week and was held at the Banyan Tree Resort on Tuesday.
Present were secretary general Anada Tiéga of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, sustainable development director of the tourism organisation Luigi Cabrini and environment principal secretary Didier Dogley.
Banyan Tree manager Anders Dimblad and other environment officials were also there.
Mr Tiéga said through this memorandum of understanding, the two bodies aim to promote the wise use of wetlands and help those who are using them wisely, including Seychelles.
He said direct action will be carried out on the ground, and already there are, for example, joint programmes between countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger.
These countries protect and support wildlife together and provide training to ensure people use the ecosystem properly.
“We are happy to sign the agreement in Seychelles to show our full support to this country, because wise use of wetlands is a reality here and the Banyan Tree has one of the best wetland sites,” said Mr Tiéga.
People here have understood the importance of wetlands and how to use them wisely, he said. “Our experience here is very useful as there are organisations and business sectors that are very much aware of the value of wetlands and we want to show this elsewhere,” he added.
Mr Cabrini said tourism is an industry that keeps growing, and we should keep up the work to make it more environmentally friendly.
“We had the opportunity recently to have closer cooperation with the Ramsar Convention, and Seychelles is a good example of a place where tourism and environment are compatible,” he added.
He said the signing will be the start of better cooperation in the future.
Mr Dimblad said the Banyan Tree is honoured to have been chosen to host the signing, adding that the hotel has done a lot of work to protect its wetlands.
He said they involve their guests in environmental activities and look forward to working with the Department of Environment on future projects.
Source: NATION 2-4-10