11 April 2011: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Mekong Water Dialogues organized a workshop from 21-25 March 2011, in Vientiane, Lao PDR, to assist the Lao Government to implement the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention). The workshop was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, with additional support from the Ramsar Secretariat.

The workshop marked the first gathering of Ramsar Administrative Authorities, Ramsar Site managers, relevant regional NGOs and other wetland experts from the region, who came together to share experiences and best practices for wetland conservation and wise use. It was attended by 30 participants from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. The workshop included a field trip to the Kut Ting Ramsar Site in Thailand, which gave participants insight into the importance of a bottom-up approach to sustainable wetland conservation.

During the meeting, participants addressed, inter alia: site based issues, such as best practices for working with local communities and techniques for carrying out ecotourism programmes; the benefits of conducting national wetland inventories and developing appropriate national strategies, policies and laws for wetland conservation; and a proposal to establish a Ramsar Regional Initiative for conserving the wetlands in the Lower Mekong Region with broad-based membership involving government officials, NGOs, academics and other relevant stakeholders.

With the accession of Lao PDR to the Ramsar Convention in 2010, all the countries of the Lower Mekong River Basin are now Contracting Parties to the Convention. [Ramsar Press Release]