WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2016 - GET TO KNOW AUSTRALIA'S WETLANDS ... PARTICULARLY THOSE UNDER THREAT

Message from Dr. Ania Grobicki Acting Secretary-General

Gland, 2 February 2016

Every year on 2 February people in many countries come together to celebrate wetlands and

their vital importance for the future of our planet.

Wetlands ensure our supply of fresh, drinkable water. They grow a significant portion of the

world’s food supply with fish and rice. Inland, wetlands act as sponges to slow down river

flooding and they form coastal barriers against storm surges. And just one single type of

wetland – peatland - stores twice as much carbon as all of the forests in the world.

For World Wetlands Day 2016, there are over 800 events planned at various wetlands around the world to celebrate another benefit of wetlands: Sustainable Livelihoods.

More than a billion people around the world make their living directly from wetlands, doing

jobs such as fishing, rice farming or handicrafts. Other sectors such as travel and eco-tourism, water transport and aquaculture all depend on healthy wetlands.

Yet some 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900; many of them converted to agricultural use or urban development.

This alarming loss means it is urgent to help people understand that preserving wetlands

does not have to mean restricting economic growth or depriving people of livelihoods. Quite

the opposite!

2016 marks the dawn of a new era. The UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted last

September map out the route from the vicious circle of environmental degradation towards a

virtuous cycle where we preserve, restore and wisely use ecosystems precisely because they are vital for our prosperity.

The new Ramsar Strategy 2016-2024 calls for wetland benefits to be featured in strategies and plans relating to key sectors such as water, energy, mining, agriculture, tourism, urban

development, infrastructure, industry, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries at the national and

local level. It also calls for wetland functions, services and benefits to be widely demonstrated and documented.

This is why, for World Wetlands Day 2016, the Ramsar Secretariat has assembled a range of inspiring stories that demonstrate how wetlands can and do provide sustainable livelihoods.

You can read these stories here.

As always, these support materials are made available with the support of the Danone-Evian

Fund for Water, which has sponsored World Wetlands Day since 1997.

We invite you to visit a wetland, get to know the local communities and how they wisely use

this ecosystem. Parties to the Ramsar Convention have designated over 2200 Ramsar Sites of International Importance, protected for the benefits they provide to the country and the world.

To encourage the participation of young people, we are running a photo competition from 2

February to 2 March open to anyone aged 15 to 24 years. You are invited to capture an image showing how “wetlands are essential for sustainable livelihoods,” and upload as many as 3 photos to the World Wetlands Day website. The winner of the photo contest will enjoy a free flight to visit a wetland anywhere in the world, courtesy of Star Alliance.

Happy World Wetlands Day! Let’s help everyone understand just how vital wetlands are!

#################

From the Advocacy editor:

.... and what are the RAMSAR Sites of International Importance in Australia?

Australia currently has 65 Ramsar wetlands that cover more than 8.3 million hectares. Ramsar wetlands are those that are representative, rare or unique wetlands, or are important for conserving biological diversity. These are included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance held under the Ramsar convention.

Australia also has more than 900 nationally important wetlands. These are wetlands that are a good example in a particular area, an important habitat for native species, or that have outstanding heritage or cultural significance. Nationally important wetlands are listed on the directory of important wetlands.

All Australia's internationally and nationally important wetlands are listed on the Australian Wetlands Database.




Picture above is of current and potential threats to wetland water regimes 
mapped according to IBRA regions from here

PLEASE DO YOUR BIT TO STOP THE FORCED REMOVAL OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMELANDS

The text below is from www.concernedaustralians.com.au.

Will You Help to Prevent a Crisis? 

The Commonwealth’s commitment to Homelands and Outstations was surely sealed by the 1967 Referendum. How can it be then that the federal government can consider abandoning their long-held responsibilities by cutting essential funding to these especially vulnerable areas? 

What is clear is that the Commonwealth knows full well that the consequences of the cuts will fall with brute force onto Aboriginal communities least able to defend themselves. Such behaviour is contemptible. 

It is quite clear that state governments do not have the resources 

to simply replace Federal funding.

Mr. Barnett in Western Australia has responded by indicating that he will close up to 150 remote Aboriginal communities by simply cutting off their essential services – water, power etc. Arrangements with the South Australia government are still to be determined but at this stage the outstations fear their fate will be similar to those in the West. 

The results of such actions are perhaps too great to contemplate, just as there is no real attempt to understand the cultural implications of moving people from their traditional homelands. 

What does closure mean? 

The relationship between Aboriginal peoples and their lands is acknowledged but little understood. The connection to land is the embodiment of Aboriginal cultural identity. It totally embraces a sense of belonging without which there is a life long sense of grieving and loss. 

It is only on your own land that you have rights – once you move these rights are lost and you become simply a squatter on somebody else’s land. Forced removals in the past have proved devastating and costly, not only to the communities themselves but also to the surrounding communities responsible for resettlement. Nearly all outback Aboriginal communities are under-resourced, have inadequate infrastructure and are grappling with social problems. 

To burden these communities further is unthinkable. Such action would place Australia in conflict with international law. "...forced evictions are ... incompatible with the requirements of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and could only be justified in the most exceptional circumstances...." UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, General Comment No.4, (1991) 

Pope Francis warns Australia of socio-economic disaster when he states, “severing the ties of Aboriginal people from their land and thus their culture, spirituality and very foundation of their being, is unethical, immoral, un-Christian and heartless.” 

We strongly believe that the Federal funding decision should be reversed. 

For this we need your urgent help. 

Can you either send letters or telephone Tony Abbott and Nigel Scullion and tell them that it would be totally unacceptable for funding to Remote Communities to be cut. The Uniting Church, guided by Congress and local synods, opposes the closure of communities and forced removals. Many of the points they have made are included in the list below as a help for those who wish to write letters. Contact details of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs are also below.  

Points for Letters –Writers Opposing Remote Community Closures: 

(you may like to focus your letter on one or more of the below points) 

• The unconscionable failure of the Federal Government to maintain its responsibility for the safety and future of Aboriginal Peoples from Outstations/Homelands.

• To close communities will create a wave of dispossession denying people the ability to stay in touch with their land and their culture. 

• There has been no attempt by government to understand what such forced community closures and movement of people means for people’s social, mental, spiritual and physical life. 

• There has been no consultation with Aboriginal people or the organisations which represent them regarding alternative solutions, and 

• The movement of so many people would put enormous pressure on the communities they go to – housing, education, health facilities, and community relationships. Nothing has been done to plan for and deal with such impacts. 

Hon. Tony Abbott: 

Parliament House, 

PO Box 6022, 

Canberra ACT 2600 

Tel: (02) 6277 7700 

Electoral Office: 

PO Box 450, Manly, NSW, 2095 

Telephone: (02) 9977 6411 

Hon. Nigel Scullion: 

Parliament House, 

PO Box 6100, 

Canberra, ACT 2600 

Tel: (02) 6277 7780,  

Electoral Office: 

Unit 1, 229 McMillans Road, 

Jingili, NT 0810 

Telephone: (08) 8948 3555 

Telephone Calls to Oppose Remote Community Closures: 

If you decide to telephone your concern to the offices of Mr Abbott and Mr Scullion please give your name and address while leaving a message stating your strong objections to these funding cuts that will lead to the closure of homelands/outstations. Demand that the decision is reversed. If you have the energy, please do also inform your Local Member of your concerns.