It is extremely bewildering that there has not been (apparently) any community or environmental backlash to the recent government announcement to stop pumping water to Lake Albert and instead allow it to dry out. despite an economic alternative being available for the lake to be fed salt water from an adjacent Ramsar site, being the Coorong.
This is in breach of the Ramsar convention charter which intends to preserve nominated wetlands by whatever means possible which should include at the very least a priority link to the Coorong (another Ramsar wetland) with Lake Albert even as an interim measure to ensure the continuation of the Lake Albert Wetland. See paragraph 2 of article 4 of the Convention below :
Where a Contracting Party in its urgent national interest, deletes or restricts the boundaries of a wetland included in the List, it should as far as possible compensate for any loss of wetland resources, and in particular it should create additional nature reserves for waterfowl and for the protection, either in the same area or elsewhere, of an adequate portion of the original habitat.
If this offends the intention of the Ramsar convention many will say it is the drought conditions that have led to this decision. However this decision ( to cut off Lake Albert) ignores ecological studies that show the lake history was one of a salt based environment for many thousands of years before man made barrages restricted the flow of natural sea water in the region. Seawater, which could be restored now to link the Ramsar sites of Lake Albert & The Coorong.
I am concerned this action is in direct conflict with the Mission Statement of the Ramsar Convention.
Regards,
Name withheld