Story | 26 Jun, 2017
New tools to assess vulnerability of wetlands in the Mekong
From June 19 to 21, IUCN staff, partners, and local officials from the Xe Champhone and Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar sites in Lao PDR gathered in Champhone District for a training on the use of a new series of tools to assess the vulnerability of the areas’ wetlands. The…
Press release | 22 Jun, 2017
Gland, Switzerland – IUCN former President, globally recognised environmentalist Yolanda Kakabadse, will Chair the new IUCN independent scientific and technical advisory panel on the restoration of the Rio Doce watershed in Brazil, following the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam at the…
Story | 16 May, 2017
Conserving wetlands in Myanmar: Gulf of Mottama is Myanmar’s fourth Ramsar site
Myanmar is home to an extraordinary diversity of wetlands, which include mountainous wetlands; large freshwater marshes and lakes; and coastal mangroves, mudflats and coral reefs. These ecosystems support fisheries, provide clean water, store carbon and protect local people from the impacts of…
Press release | 03 Apr, 2017
Enhancing regional cooperation to protect and restore Indo-Burma wetlands
The importance of regional cooperation took centre stage at the first Steering Committee meeting and inception workshop for the Indo-Burma Ramsar Regional Initiative (IBRRI), held on 29 and 30 March in Bangkok, Thailand.
Story | 30 Mar, 2017
New IUCN-led independent scientific panel to support recovery of Rio Doce Basin in Brazil
IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, announced today that it is establishing an Independent Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (ISTAP) to support the recovery of the Rio Doce Basin and the affected communities, following…
Story | 20 Jan, 2017
Adopting a wetland management committee in the Gulf of Mottama
A National Wetland Management Committee was successfully established at the "Pre-Consultation and Forming a Wetlands Management Committee Workshop”, jointly organised by HELVETAS, Network Activities Group (NAG), Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) and IUCN on 23 November…
Story | 20 Sep, 2016
Conserving the natural wealth of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) in the Indo-Burma region continues to gather momentum with the launch of two new calls for proposals, the organisation of capacity building events and discussions on the grant-making mechanism’s plans for the future.
Story | 02 Aug, 2016
IUCN has launched a call for proposals for the management and delivery of the Project Preparation process for the ‘Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems in Mekong Countries’ project. Approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council in April 2016, the project will be…
Story | 04 Jul, 2016
Blog - A shared Mekong: towards better cooperation
The boom in hydropower development in the Mekong basin could affect food security – something IUCN is working to counter by facilitating dialogue in the region, writes Raphaël Glémet, Senior Water and Wetlands Programme Officer at IUCN Asia in his recent blog article. An excerpt from…
Story | 09 Jun, 2016
Gulf of Mottama: Navigating muddy waters
The Gulf of Mottama is one of the world's largest areas of permanently muddy water. Sediment delivery from four major rivers – the Ayeyarwady, Yangon, Sittaung, and Thanlwin – and a 7-meter tidal range that drives currents of up to 3 meters/second, produce constantly changing patterns of…