Report: Wetlands for the Future Fund (WFF): Benefiting Wetland Management and Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean

Since 1996, the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), the United States Department of State, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have operated the Wetlands for the Future Fund (WFF) initiative to benefit Latin American and Caribbean institutions and individuals through capacity building and training in the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

Ten years after its inception, the Ramsar Secretariat undertook an assessment of the Fund’s performance. This assessment highlighted that the Fund implemented 225 projects in 21 of the 26 countries eligible for funding in the region and provided training for 8,217 people.

This publication compiles the lessons learned over the 12-year lifespan of WFF with a selection of projects successfully implemented in each focus area, projects which could be replicated in other countries in the region and more broadly within the worldwide Ramsar family.

Information on these projects can also contribute to the state of knowledge and management of wetlands in the region, since in many cases projects or information on activities in wetlands are not widely disseminated.

Project selection was based on the following criteria: a) that the projects have been successfully completed and have met all the requirements of the operational guidelines, b) that the materials and technical reports produced are of good quality and c) that the projects have contributed to the wise use of wetlands. The information for this purpose was drawn from the projects through progress reports, final reports and communications and outputs generated by the projects, as well as from the Fund’s evaluation document prepared by the Secretariat in 2006. It is worth mentioning that this is only a small sample of many projects that have been equally successful.

The distribution of this document is aimed primarily at decision makers and technical staff of the Ramsar
Administrative Authorities in the Americas, other relevant government organizations, Ramsar site managers, NGOs and academic institutions.

Similarly, this new publication highlights the Fund’s contribution to the implementation of the objectives
of the Convention, particularly to achieve in practice the Wise Use of Wetlands. Thus, it is our sincere hope that beneficiary countries find it useful as a management tool.

Above excerpt from WFF report: http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/wff/wff_pub2010_e.pdf