Development of the text of the Ramsar Convention: 1965–1971

The ‘Ramsar’ Convention on Wetlands was the first of the modern era global biodiversity conventions and remains the only multilateral environmental agreement focused on a single group of ecosystem types. At the time of initial discussions within the wetland conservation science community in the late 1960s, its ambition was unprecedented, with no successful models to draw upon, especially with regard to novel concepts such as the modus for an ‘internationally protected site’. Drawing on previously unpublished draft texts, we track the Convention’s textual development to its ultimate agreement in 1971. During this period its geographic scope changed from an initial European to global focus, whereas core obligations related to the designation of internationally important wetlands and the provision of secretariat coordination functions were substantively developed. We present (as supplementary material) all draft texts, from 1965 to 1971, previously unavailable online

Rural Depopulation and Empty Rural Houses in Bhutan: How Different Stakeholders Interpret the Local Term Gungtong

Internal migration has played a significant role in shifting the population from rural to urban areas worldwide. In Bhutan, rural depopulation is mostly concentrated in the country's eastern and some central parts, and is changing the rural landscape, economy, and society. In discussing rural population change, the term Gungtong is widely used in the Bhutanese media and public discourses. The literal translation of Gungtong is an empty registered house. However, Gungtong is often interpreted differently in the absence of a clear legal definition. Therefore, the primary objective of this article is to explore the various interpretations of the term Gungtong and understand its meaning. To explore this, 40 semistructured interviews with Bhutanese officials and rural residents were conducted. The study highlights that the Gungtong data gathered annually by the government are based on the administrative complexity of rural taxation policy rather than the actual departure of people from rural areas and empty houses. However, the conversation around Gungtong relates to the globally recognized issue of rural depopulation. Thus, there are discrepancies within the official dataset and between the dataset and the general understanding of the issues and implications of Gungtong. Developing a clear understanding of the term Gungtong and restructuring the data collection of empty houses will help answer some critical questions on the impact of rural depopulation in farming and the rural economy, considering Bhutan's aspiration to be food self-sufficient

The Global Mangrove Watch—A New 2010 Global Baseline of Mangrove Extent

This study presents a new global baseline of mangrove extent for 2010 and has been released as the first output of the Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) initiative. This is the first study to apply a globally consistent and automated method for mapping mangroves, identifying a global extent of 137,600 km 2 . The overall accuracy for mangrove extent was 94.0% with a 99% likelihood that the true value is between 93.6–94.5%, using 53,878 accuracy points across 20 sites distributed globally. Using the geographic regions of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Asia has the highest proportion of mangroves with 38.7% of the global total, while Latin America and the Caribbean have 20.3%, Africa has 20.0%, Oceania has 11.9%, North America has 8.4% and the European Overseas Territories have 0.7%. The methodology developed is primarily based on the classification of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat sensor data, where a habitat mask was first generated, within which the classification of mangrove was undertaken using the Extremely Randomized Trees classifier. This new globally consistent baseline will also form the basis of a mangrove monitoring system using JAXA JERS-1 SAR, ALOS PALSAR and ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 radar data to assess mangrove change from 1996 to the present. However, when using the product, users should note that a minimum mapping unit of 1 ha is recommended and that the error increases in regions of disturbance and where narrow strips or smaller fragmented areas of mangroves are present. Artefacts due to cloud cover and the Landsat-7 SLC-off error are also present in some areas, particularly regions of West Africa due to the lack of Landsat-5 data and persistence cloud cover. In the future, consideration will be given to the production of a new global baseline based on 10 m Sentinel-2 composites

Wetland dynamics: Links with spatial, ecological and socio-economic related issues in the western coastal belt of Sri Lanka

WetlandsAssessmentLagoonsMarshesEcologyEcosystemsSocial aspectsEconomic aspects

Disturbed eating at high altitude: influence of food preferences, acute mountain sickness and satiation hormones

Purpose: Hypoxia has been shown to reduce energy intake and lead to weight loss, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim was therefore to assess changes in eating after rapid ascent to 4,559m and to investigate to what extent hypoxia, acute mountain sickness (AMS), food preferences and satiation hormones influence eating behavior. Methods: Participants (n=23) were studied at near sea level (Zurich (ZH), 446m) and on two days after rapid ascent to Capanna Margherita (MG) at 4,559m (MG2 and MG4). Changes in appetite, food preferences and energy intake in an ad libitum meal were assessed. Plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin, peptide tyrosine-tyrosine, gastrin, glucagon and amylin were measured. Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) was monitored, and AMS assessed using the Lake Louis score. Results: Energy intake from the ad libitum meal was reduced on MG2 compared to ZH (643±308 vs. 952±458kcal, p=0.001), but was similar to ZH on MG4 (890±298kcal). Energy intake on all test days was correlated with hunger/satiety scores prior to the meal and AMS scores on MG2 but not with SpO2 on any of the 3days. Liking for high-fat foods before a meal predicted subsequent energy intake on all days. None of the satiation hormones showed significant differences between the 3days. Conclusion: Reduced energy intake after rapid ascent to high altitude is associated with AMS severity. This effect was not directly associated with hypoxia or changes in gastrointestinal hormones. Other peripheral and central factors appear to reduce food intake at high altitud

Guideline for sustainable wetland management and utilization: key cornerstones

This research report is based on the project on Wetlands, Livelihoods and Environmental Security and the Sustainable management of Inland Wetlands in Southern Africa: a livelihoods and ecosystem approach projects. The projects were supported by the CGIAR´s Challenge Programme on Water and Food (CPWF) and the Global Environment facility with matching funds from International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), FSP and the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) The authors acknowledge input by the entire project team. The support of IWMI, UEM, and the UZ, and Institute de Recherche pour le Development (IRD) during project implementation is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank the input of CPWF Theme 3 leadership and the Limpopo Basin Coordinator during project implementation

The use of Earth Observation for wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring

The use of Earth Observation (EO) provides Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands with new approaches to ensure the wise use and conservation of wetlands at the national and global levels. EO has many applications including the inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands. As technology advances, previous limitations of EO will be reduced, and it is anticipated that the use of EO in the management of wetlands will increase. This Ramsar Technical Report aims to provide practitioners with an overview and illustration, through case studies, on the use of EO for implementation of the Convention and the wise use of wetlands more broadly

Evaluating compulsory minimum volume standards in Germany: how many hospitals were compliant in 2004?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Minimum hospital procedure volumes are discussed as an instrument for quality assurance. In 2004 Germany introduced such annual minimum volumes nationwide on five surgical procedures: kidney, liver, stem cell transplantation, complex oesophageal, and pancreatic interventions. The present investigation is the first part of a study evaluating the effects of these minimum volumes on health care provision. Research questions address how many hospitals and cases were affected by minimum volume regulations in 2004, how affected hospitals were distributed according to minimum volumes, and how many hospitals within the 16 German states complied with the standards set for 2004.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The evaluation is based on the mandatory hospital quality reports for 2004. In the reports, all hospitals are statutorily obliged to state the number of procedures performed for each minimum volume. The data were analyzed descriptively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 2004, 485 out of 1710 German hospitals providing acute care and approximately 0.14% of all hospital cases were affected by minimum volume regulations. Liver, kidney, and stem cell transplantation affected from 23 to hospitals; complex oesophageal and pancreatic interventions affected from 297 to 455 hospitals. The inter-state comparison of the average hospital care area demonstrates large differences between city states and large area states and the eastern and western German states ranging from a minimum 51 km²up to a maximum 23.200 km², varying according to each procedure. A range of 9% – 16% of the transplantation hospitals did not comply with the standards affecting 1% – 2% of the patients whereas 29% and 18% of the hospitals treating complex oesophageal and pancreatic interventions failed the standards affecting 2% – 5% of the prevailing cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In 2004, the newly introduced minimum volume regulations affected only up to a quarter of German acute care hospitals and few cases. However, excluding the hospitals not meeting the minimum volume standards from providing the respective procedures deserves considering two aspects: the hospital health care provision concepts by the German states as being responsible and from a patient perspective the geographically equal access to hospital care.</p