Think the Earth

The 10th Meeting of the Conference of Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention is being held in Korea from October 28. The Ramsar Convention is an international, intergovernmental treaty for the conservation of wetlands. And it encompasses key wetlands including even manmade ones such as rice paddies that have biological and zoological significance (there are 33 such wetlands in Japan, 1,822 worldwide). Since 1980, a Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP) has been held once every 3 years, where signatories hold global discussions on wetland conservation and deliberate on the adoption of new wetlands.

This time around, Japan will make a joint proposal on "rice paddy conservation" with Korea. Rice paddies are not only important for rice farming. It serves many roles, i.e. a home for waterfowl and wildlife, preventing floods. Governments of both countries will call for "appropriate management" of such rice paddies that make use of the various functions their capable of performing.

114 countries around the world farm rice. Awareness for the management of pesticides has just begun to heighten in developing countries, and consideration for other living creatures is still a next step. Japan makes efforts to keep water in the paddies even in the winter, so it will be habitable for migratory birds, and creates water channels around the paddies, so that it will provide an optimal environment for fishes to lay eggs. It will now join forces with Korea to promote such activities.

This treaty is a pioneering, multi-national environmental agreement. Over 158 countries will take part in the conference to be held in Korea this year. Hopefully we will see a shift towards farming that is more conscious of habitats of other creatures with the ratification of this resolution.