SILVINA SCHUCHNER REGIONAL COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR - ARGENTINA
RITESH KUMAR DIRECTOR OF WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL - SOUTH ASIA
I am Silvina Schuchner - I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, a beautiful and multicultural city that has grown its urban agglomerations along the La Plata River. Only recently, we started recovering the river banks and coastline. I have a degree in Communication and previously worked as a media professional for 25 years. That is how I was able to meet different native communities and learn about their relationship with land. I love trees in all their forms - many years ago, a wise man taught me to hug them to feel the energy of the earth, since then I got into the habit of doing it. I also love the ceibo, our national tree, and the liquidambar with its red leaves in autumn and its seed spheres that, sway in the wind like little bells. A year and a half ago, I joined the Wetlands International LAC team in the Argentina Office with one goal: to make everyone aware of the beauty and services that wetlands provide and how important it is to conserve them. I feel that we have a lot to contribute through communication. I was particularly interested in the Wetlands International LAC office because we work with a regional perspective that transcends political borders. The Corredor Azul, one of our main programmes, seeks to preserve the health and connectivity of the Paraná-Paraguay wetland system, one of the last examples of a great river system that flows without barriers. For me, one of the highlights in 2021 was to develop a campaign for World Wetlands Day, the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, which was covered by national media. Our main achievement was to reach both the general public and key decision- makers using different platforms. This year, through a podcast, we have been able to hear the voices of the high Andean communities who defend their territory against non- responsible lithium extraction: Artisanal fisherfolk, sustainable livestock farmers, and ecotourism entrepreneurs are our best ambassadors for the work we do every day.
I am Ritesh Kumar – Director of Wetlands International in South Asia. Working with Wetlands International has given me the opportunity to contribute to building healthy, functioning ecosystems for resilient communities. My team and I believe in an “all of society” approach to conserving wetlands, an inclusive approach which exists as part of the nature conservation agenda set up in the 2030 targets. One of our challenges is to communicate that wetland ecosystems are not just interfaces of land and water, but support-systems for all people living on our planet. We, as Wetlands International, can act as connectors of science and knowledge and work at multiple scales, within multiple sectors, and with a wide range of diverse people. These interconnections drive us towards action for conserving wetlands for future generations. In 2021, we started to tell the stories of ordinary people. We joined hands with non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform, Mongabay India, and published 25 stories of people initiating and leading change in our Wetlands Champions series. These stories have been immensely popular and used throughout various platforms to showcase the power of motivated people taking action. Wetlands International can act as a strong facilitator by promoting a more inclusive agenda for wetlands conservation, building on diverse ways of seeing, understanding and interpreting nature, showcasing community perspectives and making important voices heard.
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Wetlands International Annual Review 2021
Wetlands International Annual Review 2021
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