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35-623: Kolkheti National Park was once part of the tropical and partly subtropical zone of the Tertiary period that stretched over the continent of Eurasia . Around 2000 BC, the first Georgian state, Kolkheti, better known as " Colchis ," was created here and was the place in which the first Georgian coinage, "Kolkhuri Tetri", was minted. Colchis features in Greek mythology as the rim of the world, and has been mentioned in historical chronicles across western Asia and eastern Europe since ancient times. Colchis appears in

70-543: A diversity of ducks , waders , coots , gulls and terns are common to the park during season and a number of white-tailed sea eagles have been recorded in the park, although these are very rare. Despite the protection of the park, the Georgian government has recently found a way to attract tourists whilst maintaining and protecting the natural habitat. The park was opened to tourists in 2007, attracting 1000 people in that year. Boating tours, notably on Lake Paliastomi and on

105-735: A fourth period, the Quaternary , was applied. In the early development of the study of geology, the periods were thought by scriptural geologists to correspond to the Biblical narrative, the rocks of the Tertiary being thought to be associated with the Great Flood . In 1833, Charles Lyell incorporated a Tertiary Period into his own, far more detailed system of classification, based on fossil mollusks he collected in Italy and Sicily in 1828-1829. He subdivided

140-568: A major uprising against the Romans, who had grown increasingly weak during this time. By the 130s, the kingdoms of Machelones , Heniochi , Egrisi , Apsilia , Abasgia , and Sanigia had occupied the area from south to north. Goths , dwelling in the Crimea and looking for a new home, raided Colchis in 253, but they were repulsed with the help of the Roman garrison of Pitsunda . By the 3rd-4th centuries, most of

175-463: Is a searchable database which provides information on each Ramsar site. As of 2016 there are 18 transboundary Ramsar sites, and 15 Ramsar regional initiatives covering regions of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, and South America. The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other organisations known as international organization partners (IOPs). These are: These organizations support the work of

210-480: The Black Sea shore that rises some 2–3 m above the coastal plain. Much of the land is peat bog and marsh, some of which form several distinct peat bogs, including Anaklia, Churia, Nabada, Imnati, Maltakva, Grigoleti and Pichori which are located on the coastal plain. In places peat layers may exceed 12 meters in thickness, the result of clay, sand, silt and peat deposits over the last 4000 to 6000 years. In some areas

245-677: The Global Environmental Facility . Local and international NGOs petitioned against the oil terminal and Green Alternative , a Georgian NGO, were particularly active in the protests but without initial success. In the end, the construction of the Kulevi Terminal was abandoned in late 2002, reportedly because of financial reasons, but the marine area of the Kolkheti National Park still clashes with land permitted to oil and gas companies for oil exploitation, conflicting with

280-881: The Mesozoic Era and the Quaternary Period , although it is no longer recognized as a formal unit by the International Commission on Stratigraphy . The span of the Tertiary is subdivided into the Paleocene (66–56 million years BP ), the Eocene (56–33.9 million years BP), the Oligocene (33–23.9 million years BP), the Miocene (23–5.3 million years BP) and the Pliocene (5.3–2.6 million years BP), extending to

315-669: The COP between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the COP. The contracting parties that are members of the Standing Committee are elected by each meeting of the COP to serve for the three years. The Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) provides scientific and technical guidance to the Conference of Contracting Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Ramsar Secretariat. The Secretariat carries out

350-558: The Caucasian subspecies of common treefrog and marsh frog ( Rana ridibunda ) and numerous types of snake, including ringed snake , dice snake , slowworm , and more rarely the Aesculapian snake . The European pond turtle ( Emys orbicularis ), and Artwin wood lizard are also found as are common and eastern crested newts . Several species of dolphins including Delphinus delphis , Tursiops truncates and Phocoena phocoena inhabit

385-665: The Early Tertiary and the Late Tertiary, respectively. Even though the term Tertiary has been declared obsolete, some high school curriculums still teach the geologic periods as Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, (Cenozoic-)Tertiary and (Cenozoic-)Quaternary. The term Tertiary was first used by Giovanni Arduino during the mid-18th century. He classified geologic time into primitive (or primary), secondary, and tertiary periods based on observations of geology in Northern Italy . Later

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420-541: The Kolkheti State Nature Reserve. However, given that the surrounding wetlands contained much rich biogeographical and paleogeographical information of high importance to scientists and to Georgian national heritage, the area was granted Ramsar status in 1996. This led to the Kolkheti National Park being formally established as a national park between 1998 and 1999, financially supported by the World Bank and

455-520: The Pichori River are offered, as are diving, bird watching, hiking and horse riding. There are several boating traits that range from 3 kilometers long to greater than 10 kilometers long. Tertiary period Tertiary ( / ˈ t ɜːr . ʃ ə . r i , ˈ t ɜː r . ʃ i ˌ ɛr . i / TUR -shə-ree, TUR -shee-err-ee ) is an obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with

490-588: The Tertiary Period into four epochs according to the percentage of fossil mollusks resembling modern species found in those strata . He used Greek names: Eocene, Miocene, Older Pliocene, and Newer Pliocene. Although these divisions seemed adequate for the region to which the designations were originally applied (parts of the Alps and plains of Italy), when the same system was later extended to other parts of Europe and to America, it proved to be inapplicable. Therefore,

525-612: The area attracted the Milesian Greeks who colonized the Colchian coast, establishing trading posts in the area at Phasis , Gyenos , and Sukhumi in the 6th-5th centuries BC. These sites lay just outside the lands conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. After the demise of the Persian Empire , a significant part of Colchis became known locally as Egrisi and was annexed to

560-484: The convention by providing expert technical advice, helping implement field studies, and providing financial support. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the conference of the parties and as full members of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel. The convention collaborates with a network of partners: This is the convention's governing body consisting of all governments that have ratified

595-527: The convention was signed in 1971. Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the convention which adopts decisions (site designations, resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives. In 2022, COP14

630-667: The day-to-day coordination of the convention's activities. It is based at the headquarters of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Gland, Switzerland. The implementation of the Ramsar Convention is a continuing partnership between the Conference of Contracting Parties, the Standing Committee, and the Secretariat, with the advice of the subsidiary expert body, the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP), and

665-595: The extinction of the non- avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event , at the start of the Cenozoic Era , and extended to the beginning of the Quaternary glaciation at the end of the Pliocene Epoch . The time span covered by the Tertiary has no exact equivalent in the current geologic time system, but it is essentially the merged Paleogene and Neogene periods, which are informally called

700-611: The first stage of the Pleistocene , the Gelasian Stage. Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites ( wetlands ). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands . It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran , where

735-491: The home to many types of plants including sphagnum mosses, Drosera rotundifolia , Rhynchospora alba , Carex lasiocarpa and Menyanthes trifoliata . In the forests, evergreen undergrowth tends to grow such as Hedera colchica and endemic species such as Quercus imeretina , Quercus dshorochensis and Quercus hartwissiana , and Alnus barbata and Pterocarya pterocarpa are commonly found. Aquatic plants, such as Nymphaea alba are common around much of

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770-405: The hydrological habitats of the park while Rhododendron flavum and Rhododendron ponticum are known to grow away from the coast in the alpine area of Kolkheti National Park. The swamps and wetland forests of the park contain a number of endangered species such as roe deer , boar , otter and Triturus vittatus , and more recently a population of coypu has been introduced. It is home to

805-502: The local kingdoms and principalities had been subjugated by the Lazic kings , and thereafter the country was generally referred to as Lazica ( Egrisi ). In modern times, large-scale drainage undertaken by the Soviet authorities, especially in the 1920s to develop the economy, had a devastating impact on the wetland ecosystem and in 1947 led to a small 500-hectare reserve being established, called

840-633: The marine habitat of the park while 194 different bird species are found in the national park, including 21 species who use the area during seasonal migration. Some of the birds endemic to the park are on the IUCN and Georgian Red Book list because they are verging on extinction in the area, including the black stork , crane and great white egret . The great crested grebe , red-necked grebe , black-necked grebe , great cormorant , squacco heron , Eurasian spoonbill , glossy ibis , lesser white-fronted goose , ruddy shelduck , marsh sandpiper , great snipe , and

875-451: The marsh is indunated completely with a number of lakes including Lake Paliastomi , Patara Paliastomi Lake , Imnati Lake and Parto Tskali Lake . The climate of Kolkheti National Park is warm and humid climate and annual rainfall ranges from 1500 to 1600 mm, relatively equal through the year. The park is subject to heavy periodical coastal winds and the coldest month, January can reach temperatures as low as 4.5 degrees Celsius. During

910-633: The myth of Jason and the Argonauts and his pursuit of the Golden Fleece . Colchis was also the land where the mythological Prometheus was punished by being chained to a mountain while an eagle ate at his liver for revealing the secret of fire to humanity. Amazons also were said to be of Scythian origin from Colchis. The main mythical characters from Colchis are Aeëtes , Idyia , Pasiphaë , Circe , Medea , Chalciope and Absyrtus . The advanced economy and favorable geographical and natural conditions of

945-534: The official designated protected area. Over half the park, 15,742 hectares, consists of wetlands. Many small stagnant rivers including the Pichori River , Kukani River , Dedabera River , Tkhorina River , Tsia River , Tsiva River , Churia River , Munchia River , Mukhurjina River and other smaller streams flow through the park mainly through flat coastal plain at an average elevation of 0–10 metres. A narrow dune ridge, some 100-200-meters-wide has developed along

980-592: The recently created Kingdom of Iberia ( Kartli ) in c. 302 BC. This region retained a degree of independence until conquered in c. 101 BC by Mithridates VI of Pontus . The region became inhabited by a number of related but distinct tribes whose settlements lay chiefly along the shore of the Black Sea. Numbered amongst these were the Machelones , Heniochi , Zydretae , Apsilae , Lazi , Chalybes , Tabal , Tibareni , Mossynoeci , Macrones , Mushki and Marres . During

1015-520: The rule of the Roman Empire , the Romans established major fortresses along the sea coast, but they found it increasingly difficult to maintain order. The lowlands and coastal area of what forms the marine area of the park today were frequently raided by the fierce mountainous tribes, with the Soani and Heniochi being the most powerful of them. In 69 AD, the people of Pontus and Colchis under Anicetus staged

1050-522: The summer it is a moderate temperature, reaching 22 degrees Celsius in August on average. However, in August, temperatures have been known to reach as high as 34 degrees Celsius. The climate of the park and abundance of water has resulted in a rich bioversity of flora in the coastal marshes and swamped forests and the deciduous wetland forest, is composed mostly of bearded alder , several species of willows and oaks and common ash . The coastal peat bogs are

1085-429: The support of the international organization partners (IOPs). Musonda Mumba is the seventh secretary general of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. 2 February is World Wetlands Day, marking the convention's adoption on 2 February 1971. Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet, WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997, and has grown since then. In 2015 World Wetlands Day

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1120-410: The treaty. This ultimate authority reviews progress under the convention, identifies new priorities, and sets work plans for members. The COP can also make amendments to the convention, create expert advisory bodies, review progress reports by member nations, and collaborate with other international organizations and agreements. The Standing Committee is the intersessional executive body which represents

1155-530: The use of mollusks was abandoned from the definition and the epochs were renamed and redefined. For much of the time during which the term 'Tertiary' was in formal use, it referred to the span of time between 65 and 1.8 million years ago. The end date of the Cretaceous and the start date of the Quaternary were subsequently redefined at c. 66 and 2.6 million years ago respectively. The Tertiary period lies between

1190-724: Was celebrated in 59 countries. The convention was co-founded by Eskandar Firouz (former environment minister of Iran), Luc Hoffmann of Tour du Valat research station in the Camargue in France, and Geoffrey Matthews of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in the late 1960s. The conference, which adopted the terms of the agreement, was held in the Iranian Caspian Sea resort of Ramsar on 2 February 1971. The convention turned 50 in 2021. Despite its quasi-universal application,

1225-640: Was co-held in Wuhan, China, and Geneva, Switzerland. The list of wetlands of international importance included 2,331 Ramsar sites in May 2018 covering over 2.1 million square kilometres (810,000 sq mi). The countries with most sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142. The country with the largest surface area of listed wetland is Bolivia, with around 148,000 square kilometres (57,000 sq mi). The Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS)

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