More than 200 officials and representatives of Wetland Cities (21), national and local government offices, international and national non-government organizations, academic institutions, and wetland stakeholders from 11 countries convened on 15-17 October 2024 in Dongying City, China for the 2024 Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors. The event was organized by the local government of Dongying City in collaboration with the Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia (RRC-EA), China Wetland Conservation Association, Department of Natural Resources of Shandong Province, Compliance Office of the Ramsar Convention of China (National Focal Point of China), Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Wetland City Accreditation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. It featured two days of technical and policy level discussions, and a one-day field trip.
The meeting officially commenced with messages from the Vice Governor of Shandong Province in China, Deputy Director General of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) of China, Secretary of the Dongying Municipal Party Committee in China, Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and RRC-EA Executive Director. After the opening program, the Deputy Director of NFGA’s Wetland Management Department, Professor of Beijing Forestry University, and Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI (pre-recorded video) delivered keynote presentations; while, the Executive Director of ICLEI Japan conveyed a short message. The former IAC Chair served as moderator of the keynote presentations.
Wetland Cities and potential Wetland Cities shared their completed, ongoing and planned activities in support of the conservation and wise use of urban wetlands through four parallel sessions. Moderators representing the IAC, Beijing Forestry University, ICLEI Japan, and Center for East Asian-Australasian Flyway Studies processed the presentations of each parallel session. Two plenary sessions welcomed speakers from the Beijing Forestry University, The Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative, WWF and James Cook University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 35 Percent, International Wetlands and Rivers Beijing, Chongqing University in China, and the Paulson Institute. The Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the incumbent IAC Chair facilitated the session as moderators.
As a policy-level segment of the Roundtable, the Meeting of the Wetland City Network provided an opportunity for member Wetland Cities to deliberate on planned programs of the Wetland City Network. Dongying City, China exchanged tokens with Tata City, Hungary to start the closing program. After the token exchange ceremony, Tata City played a promotional video and invited all participants to join the next mayors’ meeting. Dongying City read the Dongying Declaration and delivered the closing remarks to officially conclude the event.
The field trip arranged by Dongying City brought participants to the Yellow River Estuary Cultural Museum, Guangli River and Shandong Yellow River Delta Ramsar Site– an almost naturally intact estuary, which serves as an important migratory waterbird staging and wintering area. Bilateral meetings were also organized for two days to facilitate the exchange of insights and encourage cooperation among Wetland Cities.
The 2024 Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors is the third iteration of the annual mayors’ meeting following the first and second meetings held in Suncheon in the Republic of Korea (2019) and Amiens in France (2023), respectively. The Roundtable serves as a platform for Wetland Cities to:
- establish and strengthen communication channels among Wetland Cities;
- share and exchange information about experiences in managing urban and peri-urban wetlands with respect to local policies and regulations;
- facilitate dialogues to promote and develop socio-economic and environmental cooperation among Wetland Cities;
- invite and welcome new Wetland Cities to the Wetland City Network;
- introduce the Wetland City Accreditation scheme and the Wetland City Network to potential Wetland Cities; and
- involve International Organization Partners (IOPs) and other wetland stakeholders in activities of the Wetland City Network.
The fourth Roundtable of Wetland City Mayors is slated for November 2025 in Tata City, Hungary.
