The Conference is aimed at setting the stage for the development of a national policy on wetlands, and a national strategy and action plan for the wise use of wetlands and wetlands resources, incorporating concerns on biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation.

Specifically, the objectives of the Conference are:

* To  draw the attention of key stakeholders, including local and national policy-makers to the potential impacts of climate change on wetlands conservation, and biodiversity
* To develop guidelines and mechanics for the updating of the National Wetlands Action Plan
* To initiate the updating of the National Wetlands Action Plan taking into consideration the important role that wetlands play in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation/mitigation.
* To come up with a Conference Resolution on defining the main elements and scope of the National Policy on Wetlands and defining an agreed direction for the way forward among the key stakeholders.

PhilDHRRA-Mindanao as the secretariat NGO for the Agusan Marsh FOCAS program will be able to share the CSO experiences in protecting and conserving the Agusan Marsh in response to the global issue of climate change. We will be given the avenue to lobby and advocate actions to address the real gaps and issues that we experience from our day-to-day work with the Agusan Marsh environment and its communities.

The activity experiences, outputs and outcomes will be presented to the FOCAS Management Committee during the January 2009 regular monthly meeting. The output may be a stepping phase for the FOCAS partners to look forward for the next step of the program implementation to achieve the vision of Agusan Marsh.

For inquiries and suggestions you can contact the secretariat office at 09294669193 or +63 85 3438205

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