International Convention on Biological Diversity

WetlandCare Australia, as the Oceania representative organisation for the World Wetland Network, is proud to announce the three Australian winners of the International Wetland Awards. The Wetland Globes were awarded for the first time last week in Nagoya, Japan, at the Convention on Biological Diversity, Conference of the Parties.

The Wetland Globes were developed by the World Wetland Network to encourage best practice in wetland management.  They are non-financial awards which are given to the wetland itself. The aim of the Wetland Globes is to show that without national protection, short term economic gain and pollution have seriously degraded many wetland sites.  By celebrating good restoration and management they are also demonstrating that with the right incentives, it is possible to slow the loss of biodiversity and habitat by encouraging private sector interests to work with nature rather than against it.

Award nominations came from the community and were voted for by the community through the World Wetland Network website. The Oceania region includes Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, the following wetlands were winners for our region;

The Panboola (part of the Pambula Estuarine Wetlands) won the Blue Globe Award, which recognises best practice in wetland management. Panboola is a community owned and managed wetland complex including freshwater and saltwater wetlands on the south coast of New South Wales, near the township of Pambula.

The Forrestdale and Thompson Lakes, a Ramsar wetland, won the Green Globe Award, which recognises the highly successful restoration of this wetland. The Friends of Forrestdale community group have worked tirelessly throughout the drought to ensure their wetland restoration efforts continue to be effective. The wetland is located in the still drought affected south west of Western Australia.

The Merri River Wetlands won the Grey Globe Award, which is to draw attention to wetlands that are being actively degraded, neglected or are under threat. The Merri River Wetlands are in the south west of Victoria and are under continual and ever increasing threats from industrial and development pressures.

WetlandCare Australia, a not for profit wetland conservation organisation, has been dedicated to working with the community to protect, promote and restore wetlands for over 20 years. For more information, please contact Cassie Price, Program Leader - Ramsar on 02 66816169 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .