European River Restoration Conference

The 5th European River Restoration Conference will be held from 11-13 September 2013 in Vienna, Austria. Join Wetlands International and our partners in European river restoration us as we showcase inspiring examples of river restoration and bring together key policy makers and restoration practitioners to share and learn about the successes, challenges and opportunities for river restoration in Europe.

From the Arctic to Africa: Protecting Waterbirds and Wetlands

Along the migratory flyway between the Northwest Russian Arctic and West Africa, we are protecting wetlands and waterbirds by developingregional long-term wetland conservation and wise-use strategies. Our goal is to bring together people in the countries across the flyway in Africa, the EU and Russia through networking tools for wetland managers and the development of local conservation action and monitoring.

Migratory Birds for People programme

The Migratory Birds for People programme consists of more than 16 partner wetland visitor centres across Europe and West Africa, forming a network that follows the flight path of many migratory wetland birds species. These centres are working together to share best practice and develop new approaches to delivering waterbird and wetland messages to their visitors. The lead group consists of the Dutch Staatsbosbeheer, Wetland Link International, and Wetlands International. For more information visit the programme website.

Waterbird Population Estimates Database

The Waterbird Population Estimates (WPE) online database provides current and historic estimates, trends and 1% thresholds for over 800 waterbird species and 2300 biogeographic populations worldwide. This project has been developed by Wetlands International with the support of Environment Canada and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Visit the Waterbird Population Estimates Database

Ramsar Conference, Bucharest

The Ramsar Conference (6 - 13 July 2012 in Bucharest, Romania) offered an opportunity to strengthen and extend the reach of the Convention to achieve improved wetland conservation and management. We attended the conference with a team of experts from our global network and engaged Contracting Parties and partners to achieve these objectives. 

Conserving the marshes of Southern Iraq

The Al Hawizeh Marshes are the only Ramsar Site in Iraq, but the marshes are increasingly drying out. This region is also the scene of new oil and gas development. Under our collaborative partnership, we are assisting Shell to make sure that these developments have minimal negative impact on the biodiversity of the marshes and the ecosystem services they provide. Working with Shell, contractor Mott MacDonald and local partner Nature Iraq, this is an opportunity to contribute to the restoration of the marshes.

RESTORE - Restoring Europe's Rivers

Wetlands International encourages the restoration of European rivers towards a more natural state to deliver increased environmental quality, flood risk reduction, and social and economic benefits.

In the partnership RESTORE we share knowledge to policymakers, river basin organisation and practitioners and promote best practice on river restoration in Europe.

Improving biofuels policy in Europe

With some clear successes, Wetlands International has been strongly involved in the EU Renewable Energy Directive. We are currently working closely with other NGOs to guide the implementation policies and limit the adverse land use impacts of biofuels demand.

Saving water for the Mujib Reserve, Jordan

Together with the Royal Society for Conservation of Nature (RSCN) we worked in Jordan to reduce the impact of the dam upstream on the Mujib reserve, involve the local population in agricultural activities to save water and preserve water quality, and make sure that the Mujib reserve water needs are fulfilled in water management plans and decisions of the government.

UNFCCC Climate Talks, Bonn (Aug 2010)