Background & Objectives

The Seminar on the role of ecosystems as water suppliers took place on 13 and 14 December 2004 in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, at the invitation of the Government of Switzerland (see press release).

The Seminar brought together policy and decision makers, lawyers, economists, managers, technical experts, representatives from the private sector and NGOs, specialized in water management, forestry, landscape and nature conservation, etc. (see list of participants)

The Seminar was prepared by the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape and the UNECE secretariat of the Water Convention, in close cooperation with that of the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Cooperation has been sought with the UNECE Timber Committee, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) European Forestry Commission and its Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds, and the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE).

The Seminar provided a platform for governmental officials to meet experts from international organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and share knowledge on the role of forests and wetlands in the water cycle and the advantages related to their sustainable use, protection and restoration to ensure sustainable water management and therefore sustainable development. It documented experience within and outside the UNECE region on best practices and concrete implementation measures aiming at integrating forests and wetlands in sustainable water management.

To this aim Mr. Philippe Roch, Swiss State Secretary, had addressed a letter to the Ministers of Environment, Forestry and Agriculture in the UNECE region inviting them to submit national report on the practical experience of integration of forests and wetlands in water management.

The Seminar lead to recommendations to promote integrated policies and strategies and facilitate their implementation. The recommendations will be presented at the thirteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (New York, 11-22 April 2005) and submitted for adoption to the Parties to the Water Convention at their fourth meeting in 2006. The Seminar fostered the development of concrete joint activities at international, regional, transboundary, national and local levels, and to be considered at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (Kampala, 7-15 November 2005).

Moreover, in 2005, a second seminar focusing on environmental services and financing for the protection and sustainable use of ecosystems will be organized, specifically devoted to the economic and financial dimensions. It intends to explore the experience of solidarity between upstream and downstream communities, specifically considering the practice of protecting and sustainably using ecosystems (forests and wetlands) by means of innovative economic tools such as payments for environmental services through successful public-private partnerships and public-public partnerships.

Powerpoint presentations

Official documents

Below are made available the official seminar documents.

Booklet

On the basis of the seminar outcome and recommendations, a booklet on "Nature for water: protecting water-related ecosystems for sustainable development" was prepared for the thirteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The booklet and the seminar conclusions were presented at a special event of CSD-13, organized in cooperation with the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape. 

National Reports

Below are made available the national reports as submitted to the UNECE secretariat.

Discussion Papers

Below are made available the discussion papers as submitted to the UNECE secretariat.