Program - Wetland City Network

Program of activities

Day 1

8 June 2023, Thursday

Time	Activity
9:00 – 9:40	Opening messages Brigitte Foure, Mayor, Amiens City, France Seung Oh Suh, Executive Director, Ramsar Regional Center – East Asia / Wetland City Network Secretariat Jay Aldous, Deputy Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Kwan-kyu Roh, Mayor, Suncheon City, Republic of Korea (incumbent Chair of Wetland City Network) Stephane Haussoulier, President, Departmental Council of the Somme, France Mrs. Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, Director of General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development, France
9:40 – 9:50	Photo opportunity (with dignitaries of opening program)
9:50 – 10:30	Keynote presentations Nature in the City – Bruno Bienaime, Deputy Mayor for Nature in the City, Health, Ecological Transition and Cycling Promotion, Amiens City, France Marshlands and peat bogs of the Somme and Avre Valley (Somme Valley, Ideal Valley) project – Ms. Cassandre Chombart, Ramsar Officer, and Mr. Cedric Berquez, Director of the Somme Valley, Ideal Valley, Departmental Council of the Somme, France
10:30 – 10:45	Coffee break
10:45 – 11:45	Plenary presentations Insights on the Wetland City Accreditation scheme Sharing of experience from the past two trienniums and recommendations on the future of the IAC and the accreditation scheme – Gert Michael Steiner, Professor, University of Vienna, Austria; and Chair, Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Wetland City Accreditation of the Ramsar Convention; and Mr. Joon-woo Seo, International Cooperation Officer, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea; and IAC Member (Technical Advisor) Benefits of becoming a Wetland City – Mr. Rob McInnes, Managing Director, RM Wetlands & Environment Ltd, and President, Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program
11:45 – 12:00	Photo opportunity (all participants)
12:00 – 13:30	Lunch break and Wetland City Forum
13:30 – 15:15	Parallel sessions 4 presentations per parallel session, 20 minutes per presentation, followed by 25 minutes panel discussion
15:15 – 15:30	Coffee break
15:30 – 17:15	Parallel sessions (continued) 4 presentations per parallel session, 20 minutes per presentation, followed by 25 minutes panel discussion
17:15 – 19:00	Free time
19:00 – 20:00	Gala dinner at Musée de Picardie

Day 2

9 June 2023, Friday

Time	Activity
9:00 – 9:20	Special presentation Valorization of wastewater from the city of Amiens in its heating network – Mr. Richard Malot, Technical Director, Amiens Energies, France
9:20 – 10:15	Plenary presentations Programs of international organizations (including International Organization Partners of the Convention on Wetlands) From water bird habitat protection to Ramsar wetland city building: The evolution of China’s wetland conservation strategy with WWF’s perspective – Wenwei Ren, Head of Shanghai Regional Program, WWF; and IAC Member (representative of IOP) Delivering urban wetland programmes for people, biodiversity and climate change – Chris Rostron, International Engagement Manager, WWT; and IAC Member (representative of CEPA Oversight Panel) Moderator: Mr. Jay Aldous, Deputy Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands
10:00 – 10:30	Coffee break
10:30 – 12:00	Plenary presentations Programs of international organizations (including International Organization Partners of the Convention on Wetlands) Wetlands and ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction – Karen Sudmeier-Rieux, Eco-DRR Technical Advisor, Disasters and Conflicts Branch, United Nations Environment Programme Introducing CitiesWithNature – Supporting Wetland City Accreditation and Wetland City Network – Laura Louw, Professional Officer: Biodiversity Advocacy and International Liaison, ICLEI – Africa Secretariat; and IAC Co-Chair MIDAs Project: Supporting Multi-Internationally Designated Areas as model sites for biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and green economy – Yang Bo Kim, Expert, MAB Research and Policy Section, UNESCO Moderator: Prof. Gert Michael Steiner, Professor, University of Vienna, Austria; and IAC Chair
12:00 – 13:30	Lunch break and Wetland City Forum
13:30 – 16:00	Meeting proper (see meeting agenda)
16:00 – 16:30	Closing program Handing over of tokens by Host City to Wetland City Mayors Message from Mr. Runsheng Liang, Vice Mayor, Dongying City, China Message from Mrs. Brigitte Foure, Mayor, Amiens City, France
16:30 – 18:30	Visit to the Hortillonnages
18:30 – 19:30	Dinner at Fagots Island

Day 3

10 June 2023, Saturday

Time	Activity
9:00 – 18:00	Excursion to Baie de Somme 9:00 – departure from Amiens 12:45 – lunch at the House of Baie de Somme 14:45 – visit to Hourdel Point 18:00 – return to Amiens

* free time for those who will not join the excursion; meals (lunch and dinner) are the responsibility of the participants

Field trips

Exploring Hortillonnages on boat >>
Experience the “floating garden” on a boat through a network of waterways spanning 65 km and with a size of 300 hectares.
9 June 2023, 16:30 – 18:30
After the cocktail dinner at Fagots Island, the organizers have arranged shuttle service only for participants staying outside Amiens City.

Excursion to Baie de Somme Ramsar Site >>
Participants will visit Baie de Somme Ramsar Site with a diversity of fauna and flora as one of the largest natural estuaries in France.
10 June 2023, 9:00 – 18:00

Participants are requested to re-confirm registration with the meeting secretariat. For those who will not join the excursion, meals (lunch and dinner) are the responsibility of the participants.