New Partnerships

On the 4th December, 2005, the Project Manager Yihang Jiang participated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony with Wetlands International – China Office, making WI a formal member of the Yellow Sea Partnership.

Both parties share the common objective of conserving and using the coastal wetland resources of the Yellow Sea in a sustainable manner. The PMO of the YSLME Project and Wetlands International will mutually benefit from this cooperation through maximising the use of human and financial resources and avoiding overlaps and duplication of work. The purpose of this MOU is to set out a principle and practical basis to cooperate in promoting conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and coastal resources of the Yellow Sea.

This MOU is in line with Objective II and Objective V of the YSLME Project’s Implementation Plan and the collaboration will provide outcomes critical for the fulfilment of a number of actions in the ‘Prioritised List of Activities’ in this document. Activities under the MOU will contribute towards the implementation of Wetlands International’s Global Goal 3 “Conservation and wise use of wetlands is achieved through integrated water resource and coastal zone management” and Global Goal 4 “Improved conservation status of wetland biodiversity is achieved through large-scale, transboundary initiatives for wetland –dependent species and critical wetland habitats”.

The activities and potential areas for collaboration identified under this MOU will provide significant contribution towards national commitments under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for the Yellow Sea area. In particular, joint activities will contribute to the urgent need to address the deficiency in protection of wetland coastal ecosystems and will contribute to building of national frameworks for wetland and coastal protected areas as described in the ‘Prioritised List of Activities’ of the YSLME Project Implementation Plan.

MOU signature ceremony at Wetlands International – China Office, Beijing.