Celebrating World Wetlands Day: 2 February 2015

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.

This year’s theme “Wetlands for our Future” draws attention to the urgent need for actions that will slow, stop, and reverse wetland degradation. Latest estimates indicate that 64% of wetlands have been lost in the last century. We must reverse that trend so as to secure the future of our wetlands and our futures as we cannot achieve sustainable development without healthy wetlands.

A month-long online Global Wetland Photo Contest starts on 2 February and is open to young people aged 15-24 years old.

For more information, see: www.worldwetlandsday.org