Achieving Millennium Development Goals requires stewardship of World’s wetlands,

Secretary-General tells meeting of contracting parties of Ramsar Convention

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, in Changwon, Republic of Korea, 28 October:

Let me warmly congratulate the Republic of Korea on hosting this tenth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Your theme -- “Healthy wetlands, healthy people” -- rightly emphasizes the vital link between wetlands, livelihoods and the well-being of people around the world.

We need healthy wetlands for food, water, fibre, and medicines.  We need them to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

We need them as carbon reservoirs to help us to manage greenhouse gas emissions.  We need themto help us build resilience in the face of climate change.

Three years ago, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment sounded a stark warning.  Our inland and coastal wetlands continue to be degraded at a rate faster than any other ecosystem.

Our unsustainable use of water coupled with growing demand is making it worse.

This is despite nearly four decades of global efforts to halt and reverse the damage.

That is why the Ramsar Convention has never been more important.  It enjoys global consensus.  It provides technical know-how.  It gives rise to guidance and support networks.

Thanks to the Convention, we can all become stewards of the world’s wetlands.

I am grateful to all of you for your contribution.  I wish you success in your deliberations at this meeting, and in the task ahead.

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For information media • not an official record