In recent years, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has become an important partner for the Ramsar Convention in promoting wetland conservation as a means for achieving sustainable economic development of the local communities living within and around wetland sites.
At present, JICA is implementing such projects at 10 Ramsar Sites worldwide and at many other wetlands that have not yet been designated as Ramsar Sites.
As a result of the common goals of both JICA and the Ramsar Convention, a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between the two organizations during Ramsar COP11 to provide a framework for future cooperation. The MoC will focus on identifying opportunities to conduct joint activities, including the sharing of information and of technical experts to assist at each other’s wetland projects, as well as the holding of joint seminars, symposiums, side events, capacity building workshops and other activities.