World Wetlands Day
World
Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It
marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.
World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then
government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups
have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise
public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the
conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include
seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites,
newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
World Wetlands Day 2016
The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2016 is Wetlands for our future: sustainable livelihoods. This theme will be reflected in the February 2016 edition of Wetlands Australia and a series of fact sheets.
Wetlands play an important role in the processes that keep our
landscapes healthy and productive. They support industries such as
agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism by supplying water for
crops, stock and people, maintaining water quality, providing habitat
for commercial species and having cultural and recreational values.
Wetlands host a huge variety of life, protect our coastlines, provide
natural defences against river flooding or storm surges and store carbon
dioxide to regulate climate change.
Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than
64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. World Wetlands
Day is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness and promote the
value of wetlands.
The Ramsar Convention Secretariat has developed a number of
downloadable World Wetlands Day materials for 2016, including a teaching
guide, handouts, posters and fact sheets. These materials can be found
on the Ramsar Convention Secretariat’s World Wetlands Day 2016 website (link is external). Groups and individuals are encouraged to adapt these materials for their own World Wetlands Day events and activities.
