Side event details

Wetlands around the world are vulnerable due to exposure to a range of pressures. In certain locations, these pressures and potential impacts are being successfully addressed with sufficient data, resources and expertise. However, differing circumstances at other locations hinder thorough vulnerability assessments.

Assessment of threats to wetlands are often carried out as part of environmental impact analysis for development projects or as an element of site management planning, particularly for Wetlands of International Importance. But in many cases, assessment methods have been established in industrialized countries and are ill-adapted to conditions in developing countries, where knowledge of wetlands is often less complete and resources more limited. Data required to carry out detailed assessment of many wetlands often do not exist and, as a result, few vulnerability assessments have been carried out. Furthermore, the communities that depend most heavily on a wetland are often those without the resources to carry out a formal assessment.

This side event aims to introduce a tool “Wetland Vulnerability Assessment Tool (WETVAT)” that is capable of rapidly assessing the vulnerability of wetlands by taking into account the wide range of threats caused by human intervention and environmental change. The WETVAT is an interactive spreadsheet-based tool (in Microsoft Excel) that is complementary to the Convention’s published framework for assessing the vulnerability of wetlands to climate change. It assesses a much wider set of threats including, but beyond, climate change. The WETVAT is deliberately set up to assess the values and threats from a local stakeholder perspective and includes both quantitative and qualitative data in its analysis.

Outcome: Better understanding about the degree of vulnerability of wetlands and on how to prioritize management actions to address or reduce the impacts of threats.

Relevance to COP15 discussions: The WETVAT is the tool being promoted through the draft resolution on assessing pressures on and risks to wetlands (COP15 Doc.23.23).

Opening message

13:30 – 13:35     Mr. Sunghyun Jang
                           First Secretary
                           Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Kenya

Introduction to the draft resolution on assessing pressures on and risks to wetlands

13:35 – 13:40     Mr. Joon-woo Seo
                           International Cooperation Officer
                           International Environmental Agreements Team
                           Ministry of Environment
                           Republic of Korea

Overview of the Wetland Vulnerability Assessment Tool (WETVAT)

13:40 – 13:50     Mr. Rob McInnes
                           Director
                           RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd

WETVAT demonstration

13:50 – 14:20     Mr. Rob McInnes
                           Director
                           RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd

WETVAT pilot testing results

14:20 – 14:25     Ms. Joy M. Navarro
                           Ramsar National Focal Point – Philippines
                           OIC Chief, Caves, Wetlands and Other Ecosystems Division
                           Biodiversity Management Bureau
                           Department of Environment and Natural Resources
                           Republic of the Philippines

Next steps and closing message

14:25 – 14:30     Mr. Suh, Seung Oh
                           Executive Director
                           Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia

Moderator: Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia