On this day in 1971, in an Iranian town named Ramsar, representatives of 18 countries signed a document that received the short name “Ramsar Convention on Wetlands” and the full title “Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat.”
This convention is one of the oldest environmental agreements but is very modern in its concepts, organization, and implementation. Currently, 172 countries have joined the convention. While this is a significant achievement, it is not necessarily a cause for daily celebration.
The Secretariat of the Convention created World Wetlands Day to draw public attention to the valuable ecosystems and landscapes known as wetlands.
Each year, World Wetlands Day has a different theme. This year, the theme focuses on the responsibility of current generations to safeguard wetlands for future generations. The slogan is “Protecting wetlands for our common future.”
The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention assists interested individuals in organizing events about wetlands by providing informational materials.
Please check them out; you might find something useful. If you find this topic interesting, consider sharing it with others.
You can visit the nearest wetland with your friends and share your experience with others.
You can also participate in events in your language. Below are details of a few events:
In English
The IAAS (International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences), International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA), Youth Engaged in Wetlands, RE-PEAT, the Global Peatlands Initiative, and Wetlands International are co-organizing the webinar “World Wetlands Day: Youth for Our Common Future” on Monday, February 3rd, from 2 to 3 PM CET.
You can search for more events yourself.
Three years ago, the World Wetlands Day theme was “Wetlands and Water.” We created a short video in Russian, where a schoolboy named Grisha explains the significance of wetlands in a simple way. We highly recommend it for Russian speakers.