Held from 13-16 January 2004 in Gland, Switzerland, the 30th Meeting of the Ramsar Standing Committee, the wetland Convention’s inter-sessional governing body, was attended by 70 members and observers to review preparations for its ninth Conference of Parties (Ramsar COP-9), to be held in Uganda in November 2005.

Delegates also addressed budgetary issues and small grants fund allocation, heard a presentation on the progress of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as it relates to the Convention, and reviewed the mid-term progress of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP). The report of the meeting will be available at the end of January on the Ramsar Convention website at: http://www.ramsar.org/