The secretariat of the convention on wetlands has announced that the government of Ecuador has named two new wetlands of international significance.

The protected status of the two areas became effective recently. Ecuador has set aside for protection the 46-hectare "Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla Santa Clara' in the Provincia de El Oro, a tiny island with rocky shores in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The other designation covers the 113-hectare "Laguna de Cube' in the Provincia de Esmeraldas, a permanent lake at the southeastern edge of the Mache-Chindul mountains.