The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has agreed on a set of ecological outcome-oriented indicators for assessing the effectiveness of selected aspects of the Convention’s implementation (Ramsar resolution VIII.26). Under contract with the Ramsar Secretariat, UNEP-WCMC has been working on a range of issues in support of the Ramsar indicator process:

• Suggestions for potential story-lines for the Ramsar indicators
• Analysis of potential implications for Contracting Parties in terms of the kind of data that needs to be collected or is already collected by Parties for Ramsar National Reports
• Key recommendations for moving forward with implementation of the indicators
• Links between the Ramsar indicators and the National Report Format
• Links between the Ramsar indicators, the 2010 biodiversity indicators and the Millennium Development Goals
• A suggested coordination plan for the further development of the Ramsar indicators
• Suggestions for communication and dissemination of the Ramsar indicators
   

All this work has been included in document Ramsar COP10 DOC.23 for the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention in October/November 2008 in Changwon, Republic of Korea.

In addition, UNEP-WCMC, under contract with the Ramsar Secretariat and in cooperation with WWF International, has prepared an initial assessment of the Ramsar indicator wetland sites with successfully implemented conservation or wise use management plans.