Zim gets nod to host wetlands conference next year

Africa Moyo in SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt

Zimbabwe will next year host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15).

The confirmation was made at the end of the COP14 meeting on Sunday, which was hosted by China, but was held in hybrid format, with some delegates in Wuhan, China and others in Geneva, Switzerland.

COP14 came up with 21 resolutions, three of them proposed by China.

China proposed the resolution on the establishment of the International Mangrove Centre, on integrating wetland conservation and restoration into national sustainable development strategies, and the other on enhancing the conservation and management of small wetlands.

The resolutions are designed to promote the high-quality development of global wetland conservation.

Some of the critical outcomes of COP14 were the Wuhan Declaration and the Global Strategic Framework for Wetland Conservation 2025-2030.

The Ramsar Convention derives its name from the Iranian city of Ramsar where the convention was signed in 1971.

It is an intergovernmental agreement dedicated to the conservation and rational use of wetland ecosystems and has 172 contracting parties.