Today, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) is delighted to announce the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA) as its 40th Partner. This new partnership would enhance collaborative effort, especially on CEPA (Communication/Capacity Building, Education, Participation and Awareness) on wetlands and migratory waterbird conservation in the Asian region of the East Asian – Australasian Flyway.
RRC-EA is one of the Ramsar Regional Initiatives adopted by the Ramsar Convention. Based in Suncheon City of the Republic of Korea, it was established through the initiative of the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea to serve as a regional platform for capacity building, information exchange, and cooperation among governments, Ramsar Sites and wetland managers and stakeholders, international and national non-government organizations, technical experts and business organizations.
One of the primary areas of focus for the RRC-EA is to build capacity and provide technical assistance to countries in the region to build capacity in wetland management, and to develop CEPA programmes. It leads the development of a regional CEPA strategy to raise awareness and promote the value of wetlands and their conservation in the region, including the development of Wetlands Link International (WLI) - Asia-Oceania, a network of wetland centres that promotes the sharing of knowledge, experience, and best practices in wetland conservation and management.
With their focus aligning with the EAAFP's mission, RRC-EA has been actively collaborating with the EAAFP for many years, and their partnership was officially strengthened in December 2020 when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (link). The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation in common activities in the field of wetland conservation, especially on the expansion of cooperation and co-organization of capacity building, training and awareness-raising to relevant stakeholders at regional and national levels.
Celebrating the new partnership, Mr. Suh Seung Oh, Executive Director of the Ramsar Regional Center - East Asia stated, "We are honored to become the 40th partner of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership. Wetlands are crucial habitats for migratory waterbirds, and our collaboration will enable us to work together more effectively to conserve these ecosystems and the waterbirds that depend on them. We look forward to sharing our expertise in wetland conservation, to promote and raise awareness of the importance of wetland conservation."
The RRC-EA's expertise in wetland conservation and CEPA programs will be a valuable asset to the partnership's efforts to conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Visit RRC-EA's homepage: http://rrcea.org/