Appendix10 I 2 rNational Report of 1. R. of Iran on Disaster Reduction 
are generally of rangeland and also agricultural (the fallow is the most) and may be 
inaffect of mismanagement, change to medium class. And in the south of plain that are 
medium to high classes, generally have drainage problems and also salinization; 
therefore we should be restrain of desertification speed with the soil improvement and 
others planning in these lands. Appendix10 / 3 bational Report of 1. R. of Iran on Disaster Reduction 
I. f . Ramsar Convention-wetlands 
" 
The Convention was adopted in 1971 in Iran, in the city of Rmsar. It came into force in 
1975 and 13 1 countries already join the Convention and some other are in the process. 
Ramsar is the only global environmental treaty dealing wih a specific ecosystem and the 
mission of the Convention is the conservation and wise use of Wetlands by national action 
and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development throughout 
the world." Some of the main activities of the Convention are the development of National 
Wetlands Policy and inventories of Wetlands. The Convention deals with all wetlands 
issues fiom surface water to groundwater (salty, fieshwater, etc). Wetlands and flood 
control was mentioned in the initial Convention. Nevertheless this has not been a priority 
until very recently* For the Strategic Work Plan 2003-2008, this topic is included. The 
Ramsar Convention Bodies are the Conference of the Contracting Parties, the Standing 
Committee (regional representatives of Ramsar's six regions), the Scientific and Technical 
Review Panel and the Ramsar Bureau (Secretariat), in Gland, Switzerland. Main partners 
for the implementation of policies are the non-governmental organizations IUCN- World 
Conservation Union, Wetlands International, World Wide Fund fur Nature 
1.2. The Ramsar Convention on Wetland Preservation and disaster 
reduction 
Among the many values and functions of wetlands some of the most important involve 
flood reduction, coastal protection, mitigation of climate change and desertification effects. 
These considerations are at the heart of the Convention's guidance on management planning 
for wetlands. In addition to the revised management planning guidelines currently under 
development for adoption by the Conference of the Parties, additional guidance is also being 
developed on integrated coastal zone management which stresses these values very strongly. 
Ramsar, the Wurld Wide Fund fur Nature (FVKF), and the Niger Basin Authority are 
presently working on a project financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to 
designate wetlands throughout the Niger River Basin as Ramsar sites and develop 
management plans for them which will help to mitigate the effects of seasonal climate 
variations. A similar initiative also financed by GEF is currently underway with Ramsar, 
WWF, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission to bring the entire basin under a cooperative 
management plan following Ramsar guidelines. Similarly, Ramsar staff is working with 
local officials and NGOs on a number of projects in Europe to develop sound management 
regimes for transboundary wetlands such as the Neretva River delta, the trilateral Prespa 
Park, the Danube Delta and the Dyje Morava floodplain. Although the main purpose of 
these activities is sustainable use of resources, all have a component that is relevant to 
disaster prevention. Source: Ramsar Secretariat, and G. Bergkamp, B. Orlando, IUCN 
RAMSAR secretariat and G. Bergkamp, B. t Orlando, IUCN, 1999