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Prof. Peter Bridgewater


(Australia, 1945)

Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands (RAMSAR), IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

pbwater@ramsar.org




Professor Peter Bridgewater, PhD, was born in Australia and earned his BSc (Hons) degree in 1967 and PhD in 1970.At present he is Secretary General of the RAMSAR Convention on the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance. This Convention is an intergovernmental treaty signed in 1971 in the town of Ramsar, Iran. This Convention aims at offering a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources. The Secretariat of the RAMSAR Convention is housed in the Headquarters of IUCN in Gland, Switzerland.

Professor Bridgewater's current interests in research include the links between biological and cultural diversity, the management and conservation of coastal zones, landscape ecology and in particular, its role in sustainable development.

Positions held before present:

  • Secretary, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme and Director, Division of Ecological Sciences (1999 - 2003).
  • Chief Science Adviser, Environment Australia, and Supervising Scientist, Alligator Rivers Region (1997 - 99).
  • Chief Executive, Australian Nature Conservation Agency (including the statutory appointment of DirectorNational Parks and Wildlife Service) (1990 -1997).
  • Chief Scientist, UK Nature Conservancy Council, (1989-1990).

Appointments (1995 - onwards):

  • Member, Screening Committee of the Cosmos Prize, Japan. (2003-2004)
  • Member, Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2000 - 2005)
  • Member, Science and Technology Advisory Panel to the Global Environment Facility, UNEP.(1998 -2000)
  • Commissioner, Commission on Genetic Diversity for the World Humanity Action Trust (1998 - 2000)
  • Member, Australian National Commission for UNESCO (1993-1999)
  • Commissioner, Parks & Wildlife Commission, Northern Territory (1997-99)
  • Chair, VIth Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention (1996)
  • Chair, Inter-government Coordinating Council for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (1995-98)
  • Commissioner, Independent World Commission on the Oceans (1995-98)
  • Chairman, International Whaling Commission (1995-1997).

Honours:

  • MCharted Environmentalist, 2005
  • Fellow, Institute of Ecology and Ecosystem management, 2004
  • Fellow, Linnaean Society of London, 2000
  • Joint Recipient, with the 6-member Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme, for the 2001 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.
  • Doctor of Resource Management (honoris causa) University of New England - (1997)
  • Awarded the UNESCO Picasso Gold Medal, 1995, jointly with the Chair of the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management, for excellence in managing a World Heritage cultural landscape.

Current Research interests:

  • The people/biodiversity interface.
  • Conservation and management of coastal zone wetlands.
  • Landscape Ecology, especially its role in sustainable development

    • Reviewing/Refereeing:

    • Editorial Board, Phytocoenologia (1998 - present)
    • Editorial reviews for Cambridge University Press publications in biology
    • Referee for: Journal of Ecology, Vegetatio, Journal of Vegetation Science, Pacific Conservation Biology

    Scientific/Technical Conferences:

    Over 170 publications on nature conservation, vegetation science, biodiversity issues and environmental policy.Key publications include:

    Publications:

    Más de 170 sobre conservación de la naturaleza, ciencias vegetales, biodiversidad y políticas ambientales. Las principales incluyen:
    • BridgewaterP.B. (1980) Phytosociological studies in the British heath formation. I. Heaths of the Ulicetalia minoris (P. Duvign. 1944). J.M. Géhu 1973. Phytocoenologia 8, 191-235.
    • Bridgewater, P.B. (1981) Phytosociological studies in the British heath formation. II. Heaths of the Vaccinio - Genistetalia R. Shubert 1960, and species' poor heaths of the Ulicetalia minoris (P. Duvign, 1944) J.M. Géhu 1973. Phytocoenologia 9, 27-52.
    • Bridgewater, P.B. (1982) Phytosociology of coastal saltmarshes in the mediterranean climatic region of Australia. Phytocoenologia 10, 257-296.
    • Bridgewater, P.B. (1994) Conspectus of major vegetation units for Australia. Phytocoenologia 24, 283 - 297.
    • Bridgewater P. B. (1997), The GlobalGarden : Eden revisited. dins Hale, P i Lamb, D. Conservation outside of Reserves, pp 35 - 38. Surrey Beatty, Sydney.
    • Bridgewater, Peter, Russell-Smith, Jeremy, i Cresswell, Ian. (1998) Vegetation Science in a cultural Landscape. The case of KakaduNational Park. Phytocoenologia, 28 (1), 1 - 17.
    • Cresswell Ian D., i Bridgewater, Peter. (Editors, 1998) The Darwin Declaration. Australian Biological Resources Study and Smithsonian Institution. 14pp. Environment Australia, Canberra.
    • Bridgewater, Peter, i Cresswell, Ian D. (1999) Biogeography of Mangrove And Saltmarsh Vegetation: Implications for Conservation and Management in Australia. Mangrove and Saltmarsh. 3. 117-125.
    • Bridgewater, P.B. (2000) Biosphere Reserves, the Ecosystem Approach and sustainable Tourism finding new paradigms in a globalizing world. dins di Castri, F. i Balaji, V. Toursim, Biodiversity and Information. pp 293 - 306. Backhuys, Netherlands.
    • Bridgewater, P.B. i Arico, S. (2002). Conserving and managing biodiversity sustainably: The roles of science and society. Natural Resources Forum, 26. 245 - 248.
    • Bridgewater, P. (2002) The Landscape Kalaeidoscope: the conundrum of protected areas and adaptive management management in the context of climate change. dins Oglethorpe, J. Adaptive Management from theory to practice. IUCN, Cambridge. pp 161-166
    • Bridgewater, Peter, i Cresswell, Ian D. (2003) Identifying biogeographic patterns in Australian saltmarsh and mangal systems: A phytogeographic analysis. Phytocoenologia. 33, 1-20
    • Rose, Orlando Hall i Bridgewater, Peter. (2003) New approaches needed to Environmental Education and PublicAwareness. Prospects. XXXIII, 263 - 272.
    • Agardy, T., Bridgewater, P., Crosby, M., P., Day, J., Dayton, P.K. Kenchington, R., Laffoley, D., McConney, P., Murray, P.A., Parks, J.,E. i Peaul, L. (2003). Dangerous targets? Unresolved Issues and Ideological Clashes Around Marine Protected Areas. dins Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 13: 1-15
    • Bridgewater, P.B. i Bridgewater, C. (2005). International environmental governance: the story so far. dins; Lowe, I., Paavola, J. (eds) Environmental Values in a Globalizing World. Routledge. Pp 197 - 212.