Wetlands International Celebrates 60 year anniversary

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On 21 – 23 September 2014, Wetlands International will celebrate its work and achievements over the past 60 years in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A ‘Wetland Solutions for water, people and nature’ event will exchange ideas on how to increase the impact of wetland solutions. This will be followed by a meeting of the Member Delegates and Board of Association.

To help commemorate 60 years of Wetlands International and its predecessors, on Monday 22 September, Wetlands International will co-host a global stakeholder forum at the World Trade Center Rotterdam, together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment of the Netherlands. The ‘Wetland Solutions for water, people and nature’ event will bring together a wide range of our prominent stakeholders to discuss the interlinked environment and development challenges of water, food, climate and trade.

Over the past 60 years Wetlands International has demonstrated how wetlands play a vital role in safeguarding biodiversity, strengthening livelihoods, increasing resilience to natural hazards and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is an important moment to both recognise achievements and look to the future so that we can have an even bigger impact. Going forward, even greater levels of collaboration and trust are needed to enable wetlands to provide solutions to these key global challenges. ‘Wetland Solutions for water, people and nature’ will share knowledge and exchange ideas on how we can collaborate even more to increase the impact of wetlands.

Keynote speakers include:

  • Tineke Huizinga, Chair of the Delta Alliance
  • Drs. Kitty van der Heijden, Director of World Resources Institute, Europe
  • Fred Pearce, Environmental journalist and author
  • Dr. Pieter den Besten, Programme Manager IJsselmeergebied, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, The Netherlands
  • Jane Madgwick, Chief Executive Officer, Wetlands International

On Tuesday 23 September the Member Delegates and Board of Association for Wetlands International will meet to reflect on and draw conclusions from the stakeholder consultation process and attend to Association matters.

Sunday 21 September will feature a trip to Biesbosch National Park. This is one of the largest and most important natural areas in the Netherlands, and one of the few remaining freshwater wetlands with tidal influence in Europe. The trip will be hosted by Sylvo Thijsen, the Director of Staatsbosbeheer, a public organisation that is entrusted with managing Dutch nature reserves.