Cockburn Wetlands Education Centre

The Cockburn Wetlands Education Centre organised the inaugural WA Wetland Management Conference on 2 February 2005 to mark the occasion of World Wetlands Day. This marks the anniversary of the signing of the international convention on the conservation of wetlands at the Iranian City of Ramsar on 2 February 1971. Australia was one of the 17 original signatories of this important convention. The number of signatories is now well over 100 and many thousands of important wetlands are listed on the Ramsar register. Lake Forrestdale and Thomsons Lake are two local wetlands amongst the 13 WA wetlands that are internationally recognised for their great value as wildlife refuges for waterbirds.

The conference has become an annual event and is now the largest World Wetlands Day event in Australia. The aim of the one-day event is to raise awareness about the vast amount of work that is going on in WA to conserve, manage and restore our precious wetland heritage. It is a wonderful networking opportunity and allows wetland practitioners to share information and exchange ideas. The conference includes keynote speakers, along with poster presentations and concurrent workshops to allow for greater interaction between the speakers and the audience.

Sponsorship allows registration fees to be kept at a minimum ensuring both community volunteers and students can afford to attend, along with local government environmental officers, State Government officers and industry representatives. The Department of Environment and Conservation, WWF-Australia, City of Cockburn, Myalup Vines, Water Corporation and LJ Hooker sponsored the 2007 conference.

The proceedings are published annually and copies can be ordered by downloading the order form.

If you would like to be informed of the next conference, please subscribe to our monthly WetNet newsletter on the Home page. The newsletter is free to receive and to contribute to. It provides an ongoing communication link between wetland practitioners.

If you would like further information or if your organisation is interested in supporting or becoming involved in the conference please phone the Wetlands Officer, Denise Crosbie, on (08) 9417 8460 or email denise@cockburnwetlands.org.au