Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy Associate Professor Brandon P. Anthony recently lead a special training workshop on conducting rapid ecological, and ecosystem service, assessments of Ramsar wetlands in Central Asia. Prof. Anthony worked with the Ramsar Regional Initiative for Central Asia (RRI-CA) and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) to offer a two-day training workshop for Ramsar site managers and other government officials from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. 

Rapid wetland assessments are being promoted by the Ramsar Convention (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) as a means for countries to design a simple and rapid site assessment system that does not rely on detailed, quantitative assessments, and encourages input from traditional and/or indigenous groups. Although not a substitute for more long-term, comprehensive assessments, rapid assessments can help establish baseline inventories and identify key ecosystem attributes that are undergoing threats.