About World Wetlands Day 2021

In 1971 the first Convention on Wetlands was held in Ramsar, Iran, and established an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands and the sustainable use of their resources. On the 50th anniversary of that convention, we are celebrating that international agreement, and making the most of our remote format, by bringing together speakers from wetland sites all over the world. In three 90-minute webinars over the weekend of 6th-7th February, we will learn about what makes each site unique, as well as the common challenges facing these valuable habitats in coming decades.

Attendees will be contacted via e-mail in the days before the event with the Zoom links and a guide to using Zoom for those who are unfamiliar with it.

More details about the event and speakers can be found on Ridge 2 Reef's website. BY ORDERING A TICKET FOR ANY ONE SESSION on Eventbrite (Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning) grants access to ALL three webinars.

Saturday, February 6th

Morning, 9 AM - 10:30 AM PST: South Africa & the United Kingdom

9AM - 9:45AM: Dr. Dirk van Driel, Director, UNESCO West Coast Biosphere, South Africa

Saturday morning's first speaker, Dr. Dirk van Driel, is the Director of the UNESCO West Coast Biosphere, South Africa. Dr. van Driel is currently a water and sanitation specialist (WATSAN) who uses his innovation and acumen to bring clean water and waste facilities to people living without these basic necessities.

9:45AM - 10:30AM: Dr. James Robinson, Director of Conservation, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, UK

Dr. James Robinson is currently WWT's Director of Conservation, based at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. He had previous roles as the RSPB's Director for Eastern England, Head of Nature Policy, Director for Northern Ireland, and Conservation Manager for Northern Ireland, at WWT as Head of Wetland Biodiversity Unit, as Research Assistant at the University of Durham and as Lecturer at Bishop Burton College. WWT's vision is a world where healthy wetland nature thrives and enriches lives; to conserve, restore and create wetlands, save wetland wildlife, and inspire everyone to value the amazing things healthy wetlands provide for people and nature.

Saturday Afternoon, 4 PM - 5:30 PM PST: Australia & South Korea

4PM - 4:45PM: Christine Prietto, Hunter Wetlands Center, Australia

Christine Prietto is a Director the Board of Hunter Wetlands Center Australia (HWCA), Australia's first dedicated wetlands centre. HWCA manages Shortland Wetlands, part of the Hunter Estuary Ramsar Site. Since 2001 Ms Prietto has served as Australia’s Communication, Education and Public Awareness Non-goverment Focal Point for the Ramsar Convention. Ms Prietto was also involved in drafting and negotiating the passage of the Ramsar Convention’s Communication Education and Public Awareness program. Since 2006 Ms Prietto has served on the CEPA Oversight Panel which reports to the Ramsar Convention’s Standing Committee.

4:45PM - 5:30PM: Seung Oh Suh, Executive Director, Ramsar Regional Center - East Asia Suncheon Bay

The goal of the Ramsar Regional Centre – East Asia (RRC-EA) is to enhance the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in the East, and South-east Asia regions through training, research, advocacy and public awareness programmes. Executive Director Suh, Seung Oh leads RRC-EA's objective to support implementation activities of the Contracting Parties for effective management and conservation of wetlands.

Sunday, February 7th

Morning, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM PST: The Americas

10:30AM - 11:15AM: Dr. Bill Mitsch, Eminent Scholar and Director, Everglades Wetland Research Park, Florida Gulf Coast University, Chair of U.S. National Ramsar Committee

Dr. Mitsch's research has focused on wetland biogeochemistry, wetland creation and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecosystem modeling. Before October 2012 he was Distinguished Professor of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University and Director of the University's Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. Dr. Mitsch has authored or co-authored over 600 papers, books, published abstracts and other publications in ecological and environmental science. He is also the Chair of the US National Ramsar Committee.

11:15AM - 12:00PM: Professor Christine Whitcraft, California State University, Long Beach

Christine Whitcraft received her PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and completed her post-doctoral work at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. She is also the Director of the Environmental Science and Policy program at CSULB. She is interested in how human activities influence the structure and function of coastal wetlands, particularly food webs. Her projects include work on the impacts of non-native and invasive species, altered hydrology, climate change, and restoration in fields sites from Baja to San Francisco.