Ramsar, the UNESCO for wetlands? When a journalist asked Jérôme
Bignon, president of the Association Ramsar France, to explain
in a few words what the Ramsar Convention is about, Mr Bignon
replied: “Ramsar is the UNESCO for wetlands”. These words were
said at a meeting that took place on 15-16 November 2012 in the
Brenne Regional Nature Park and Ramsar Site in central France.
It was the fourth annual seminar bringing together more than 100
Ramsar actors (site managers, civil servants, elected people,
experts, NGOs and civil society representatives) to exchange
their experiences and debate new approaches to wetland
conservation in France. |From left: François Mignet (director of
Brenne Ramsar Site and Regional Nature Park), Michel Métais
(director of BirdLife France LPO) and Jérôme Bignon (president
of Association Ramsar France) exchange views at the edge of one
of Brenne’s 1,000 fish ponds.| Based on the example of the
national association in support of the management of World
Heritage properties in France, t