procedures including a conflict of interest policy and elected the first full three-year term Multidisciplinary Expert Panel. candidate was elected to the panel. Australia’s Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Australia is one of the original contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Australia has designated 65 sites for the List of Wetlands of International Importance—an inventory prescribed by the Convention on Wetlands (more commonly known as the Ramsar Convention, which was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971). The Department responded to Ramsar Secretariat requests for information regarding third-party notifications on some Ramsar sites and hosted the Ramsar Secretary General on a tour of two Victorian Ramsar sites in November 2014. Representatives of the Department attended the 12th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention in Uruguay in June 2015, and the 6th Oceania Regional meeting in Fiji in August 2014. Australia contributed a national report, hosted a side event on Commonwealth Environmental Watering in the Murray–Darling Basin and took a leadership role in discussions on wetland restoration. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Australia has been signatory since 2000 to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted by over 193 countries. The objective is to combat UNCCD’s desertification by mitigating the effects of land degradation in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification. Australia has substantial policy and technical expertise in sustainable management of land and water. We contribute to long-term integrated strategies of the UNCCD that focus on improved productivity of land and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources. United Nations Environment Programme The engagement with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) included Department’s supporting the Parliamentary attendance at the first Forum of Ministers and Secretary’s Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific. The forum was convened by UNEP in May 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss challenges and find solutions to regional environment and sustainability issues. Wildlife trade including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora During 2014–15, the Department has participated in the United Nations Group of Friends on Poaching and Illicit Wildlife Trafficking, which is focused on bringing a draft Resolution on Tackling Trafficking in Wildlife to the United Nations General Assembly. Australian representatives also attended the Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, held in Botswana in March 2015. The conference built on international achievements in implementing the London Declaration. Through the declaration, countries and partner organisations committed to cooperating to achieve four outcomes to combat illegal wildlife trade:
procedures including a conflict of interest policy and elected the first full three-year term Multidisciplinary Expert Panel. Australia’s candidate was elected to the panel. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Australia is one of the original contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Australia has designated 65 sites for the List of Wetlands of International Importance—an inventory prescribed by the Convention on Wetlands (more commonly known as the Ramsar Convention, which was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971). The Department responded to Ramsar Secretariat requests for information regarding third-party notifications on some Ramsar sites and hosted the Ramsar Secretary General on a tour of two Victorian Ramsar sites in November 2014. Representatives of the Department attended the 12th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention in Uruguay in June 2015, and the 6th Oceania Regional meeting in Fiji in August 2014. Australia contributed a national report, hosted a side event on Commonwealth Environmental Watering in the Murray–Darling Basin and took a leadership role in discussions on wetland restoration. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Australia has been signatory since 2000 to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted by over 193 countries. The UNCCD’s objective is to combat desertification by mitigating the effects of land degradation in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification. Australia has substantial policy and technical expertise in sustainable management of land and water. We contribute to long-term integrated strategies of the UNCCD that focus on improved productivity of land and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources. United Nations Environment Programme The Department’s engagement with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) included supporting the Parliamentary Secretary’s attendance at the first Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific. The forum was convened by UNEP in May 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss challenges and find solutions to regional environment and sustainability issues. Wildlife trade including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora During 2014–15, the Department has participated in the United Nations Group of Friends on Poaching and Illicit Wildlife Trafficking, which is focused on bringing a draft Resolution on Tackling Trafficking in Wildlife to the United Nations General Assembly. Australian representatives also attended the Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, held in Botswana in March 2015. The conference built on international achievements in implementing the London Declaration. Through the declaration, countries and partner organisations committed to cooperating to achieve four outcomes to combat illegal wildlife trade:
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