Report
The 10th Anniversary of the Ramsar COP8, Kushiro Conference
|International Workshop on Wise Use of Lagoon Wetlands, 23-25 July|


@@The 10th Anniversary of the Ramsar COP8, Kushiro Conference|International Workshop on Wise Use of Lagoon Wetlands was held at Kushiro Sight-seeing and International Exchange Center, from July 23rd-25th, 2003. 110 participants from 13 countries, including Japan, Australia, India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia etc., have actively taken part in the discussion on conservation and wise use of lagoon wetlands.

@@The participants from Ramsar Center Japan-Asia are as follows; Dr. Toru Iwama (President), Dr. Hiroji Isozaki (Vice President), Hisashi Shinsho(Vice President), Dr. Tatsuichi Tsujii, Dr. Satoshi Kobayashi, Dr. Toru Takita, Mr. Seisuke Abe, Ms. Reiko Okamoto, Ms. Mika Omura, Ms. Reiko Nakamura, Mr. Takayuki Musha, Ms. Aya Yonezawa, Ms. Tamako Tsukiji, Amb. Amado Tolentino, Dr. Bishnu Bhandari, Dr. A.K. Pattnaik, Mr. D.P. Dash, Mr. Sanowar Hossain, Dr. Sundari Ramakrishna, Dr. Sansanee Choowaew, Mr. Asae Sayaka, Dr. Gea-Jae Joo, Dr. Wen-Yan Chiau, Mr. Chen Kelin, Mr. Shih-Chang Lin.
@


< Keynote Addresses >
Mr. G. B. Mukherji, Principal Secretary of the Forest and Environment, Government of Orissa , India (right) / Dr. A. K. Pattnaik, Chilika Development Authority (left) has made a presentation on gRejuvenation of Chilika Lagoon; A journey from Montreux Record to Ramsar Wetland Award-A case study from Indiah.
Mr. Hidenobu Kunii from Research Center for Coastal Lagoon Environments, Shimane University, delivered his speech on gCharacteristics of coastal lake ecosystem and its wise use and restorationh.



< Sessions >
Each speaker was given 15 minutes for presentation. In total, 17 speakers have reported about the lagoon environment in their home countries. During the question and answer sessions, all the participants were very active in exchanging their ideas concerning lagoon management systems and practices.


< Poster Sessions >
Poster sessions were held during the lunch time. 7 organizations including Saroma Lake Cultivated Fisheries Cooperative Society, and Nakaumi Waterfowl International Exchange Foundation. They explained their projects to the workshop participants with enthusiasm. Posters related to lagoons were exhibited across the venue. Cities, towns, and villages all over Japan provided us with the posters and pamphlets with various lagoon information.



< Study Tour >
We visited Kushiro shitsugen. Here is the largest marshland and the first Ramsar site in Japan.
Local fisherman explaining about the cultivation of oysters at Akkeshi Lake. The lake is Ramsar Site, the culture of oysters and calms is active.
Visiting the Oyster Seedling Center at Akkeshi City. Here the tiny spats are grown until they become 3 mm in length.
Local elementary and junior high school students performed the gTaikoh(Japanese traditional drums) for the workshop participants, at the Forest Recreation Park in Tokoro City.


< At the Tourist Home >
All the foreign participants stayed at a tourist home near Saroma Lake.
The owner teaching how to eat crabs. The participants seemed to be enjoying the Japanese traditional meal.@


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