International Cooperation: Protecting Wetlands
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Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega signed a memorandum of cooperation with Dean Darby Dickerson Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.
On Feb. 18, Stetson University College of Law became the first law school in the world to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ramsar Secretariat, assisting the international group that works to protect wetlands.
Stetson Law Dean Darby Dickerson signed a historic agreement with Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus at 1401 61st St. S.
Later in the day, Stetson Law professor Royal Gardner and law students attended a celebration with a Ramsar delegation at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fla. Two recent Stetson Law graduates worked with the National Audubon Society on the application for the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance, which was awarded in October 2009 by Ramsar. Wilderness artist Clyde Butcher and a National Audubon Society representative attended the invitation-only celebration in Naples.
An Audubon representative takes the Stetson Law students and Ramsar delegation on a tour of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples on Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.
“We are very proud that our students played an important role in the Ramsar designation of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, one of Florida’s great natural resources,” said Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. “Stetson’s agreement with the Ramsar Secretariat ensures that we can continue to collaborate on projects to protect wetlands throughout the world.”
Stetson has actively participated in Ramsar activities and was the first law school to become a member of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee, an organization that supports wetland conservation efforts. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has named more than 1,800 wetlands of international importance worldwide, including 29 sites in the U.S. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is the largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress in North America.
Post date: Feb. 9, 2010
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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