The Ninth Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP9) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands began on Tuesday, 8 November 2005 and will continue until 15 November 2005 at the Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda. The theme of the Conference is “Wetlands and Water: Sustaining Life, Sustaining Us”.

COP9 delegates will consider nearly 20 agenda items, including the Convention’s Work Plan for the period 2006-2008 and the revision of its Strategic Plan for the period 2003-2008, as well as reports and recommendations submitted by Parties and the Convention’s Standing Committee. COP9 will also review the implementation of the Convention at the global level and report on a range of issues, including the proposed budget for the period 2006-2008 and the work of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP).

The Conference will also include a Ministerial Dialogue, a special statement on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and its outcomes under the Convention, and a technical meeting on the application of the principle of wise use in integrated water management.

COP9, the first Ramsar COP to be held in Africa, is expected to adopt the Kampala Declaration and more than 20 resolutions sent by the Standing Committee and Parties on a wide range of policy, programme and budget issues.