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 Bonn,
20 November 2006 - Launched today, the Wings Over
Wetlands (WOW) Project is the largest international wetland
and waterbird conservation initiative ever to take place
in the African-Eurasian region. This 12 million US dollar
project aims to conserve the critical areas needed by waterbirds
migrating across these continents.
Key international organizations involved in
the study and conservation of waterbirds are joining forces
to improve understanding and flyway-scale protection of
migratory waterbirds across Africa and Eurasia. Waterbirds
migrate vast distances, and the project is designed accordingly,
covering the entire African-Eurasian area, including Africa,
Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Greenland and the
Canadian Archipelago.
The German Federal Environment Minister Sigmar
Gabriel congratulated with the words: “Without the
wintering areas for the white stork in Africa or the breeding
areas in Siberia for the geese hibernating in the Wadden
Sea, all protection efforts in Europe are useless. Acknowledging
the need for wide ranging international flyway cooperation
I welcome the international support of this project including
an important German contribution of one million Euros”
The WOW Project is sponsored by the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Secretariat of the
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (UNEP/AEWA
Secretariat) and several other donors. The project will
help foster international collaboration along the entire
flyways, build capacity for monitoring and conservation,
and demonstrate best practice in the conservation and wise
use of wetlands in 12 selected countries.
 Full
press release: [English]
[French]
[German]
WOW Project -
Fact Sheet
Photos from the Press Conference: [01]
[02]
[03]
[04]
Overview of Initial Press Coverage - Running
List
Other
WOW Project Pages on the AEWA Website:
UNEP/AEWA Website Announcement:
Start
of the Wings Over Wetlands - African-Eurasian Flyways Project
The Project Partnership - Overview
WOW Demonstration Projects - Map
of Project Area with Demonstration Sites
WOW PROJECT
NEWS, UPDATES and DOCUMENTS:
WOW PROJECT WEBSITE: www.flywaysproject.org
(under construction)
FIRST WOW UPDATE:
English | Français
GEF PROJECT DOCUMENTS:
HTML
| MS
Word
For
more information please
also consult the following websites:
Wetlands International WOW
Project Page: www.wetlands.org/wow
BirdLife International WOW Project page:
www.birdlife.org/action/ground/wow_project/index.html
Ramsar Convention WOW Project Page: www.ramsar.org/wn/w.n.wow_launch_press_e.htm
http://www.wetlands.org/
http://www.birdlife.org/
http://www.unep-aewa.org/
http://www.ramsar.org/
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/
http://www.gefweb.org/
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.unops.org/unops/
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