Preface
Through the planned visits to wetlands both before and after playing the board game, children and their teachers will be able to step out of the classroom and into LoLo's natural world. And the final outcome? Almost certainly, the children who are fortunate enough to have this game included as part of their General Studies course will be more aware of the complex issues that are associated with LoLo's life and how it is intertwined with their own lives and the lives of millions of other children in several different countries on LoLo's migratory path. It will hopefully be one of many steps they will take towards making their own sustainable lifestyles.
As the Ramsar Convention's CEPA Programme Officer, I am particularly happy to see the launch of this educational tool. The Convention, as an intergovernmental treaty dedicated to the wise use of wetlands, recognizes the importance of education in conserving wetlands through its CEPA (Communication, Education and Public Awareness) Programme. Through an effective wetland CEPA Programme of work, all stakeholders can be made aware of the vital role of wetlands in delivering a range of services for humans (such as water supply, fish, plant materials, flood protection, etc.) and of the need to sustainably use such wetlands to maintain these ecosystem services. In pursuit of this, Ramsar's CEPA Programme encourages countries to ensure that wetland and sustainability issues are adequately addressed in school curricula. WWF Hong Kong, through "LoLo's Flying Journey", will achieve precisely this.
It is a privilege to write this preface to "LoLo's Flying Journey", an educational tool that isresponding effectively to the challenges of the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable development and the objectives of the Ramsar Convention's CEPA Programme.
Dr Sandra Hails
CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat