2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. It marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general, and the Ramsar Convention in particular.
2013 is the UN International Year for Water Cooperation and an ideal opportunity for Ramsar to look at the connection between water and wetlands.
For WWD2013 we have joined hands with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme who have a lead role for the International Year and they have partnered with us in the production of our poster and leaflet. Our theme is Wetlands and water management, an area of work that has been given considerable attention by our Scientific and Technical Review Panel over many years and resulted in much helpful guidance for our member countries.
Our slogan? Wetlands take care of water, reflecting the interdependence between water and wetlands and the key role that wetlands play. Wisely using our wetlands is an essential component of the delivery of sustainable water management. In our leaflet we will be painting the big picture, looking at who manages water and the many challenges from governance to transboundary, agricultural and urban water management issues, to water storage issues and water diversion schemes. Finally we take a look at what we can all do at the global, regional and local levels in ensuring that wetland ecosystems and their water are well managed for the benefit of people and wildlife.