February 2nd
World Wetlands Day
World Wetlands Day is an internationally significant day celebrated on February 2 every year. By celebrating this day, we commemorate the date of adoption of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997.
Since then, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat has been providing relevant information and materials to government agencies, non-governmental organizations, conservation organizations, and social groups celebrating World Wetlands Day to help them raise awareness about the value and benefits of wetlands and support their conservation and sustainable use. These activities include various seminars, festivals, announcements of newly designated Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews, as well as nature walks and wetland restoration.
Details about World Wetlands Day can be found on the UN website.
Wetlands and Sustainable Development Goals
Healthy wetlands are essential for achieving the following Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 6, which focuses on ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, and its target 6.6, which aims to protect and restore water-related ecosystems; Goal 14, which relates to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development, including its target 14.2, which strives for the sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems; and Goal 15, which concerns life on land, and its target 15.1, which seeks to ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
In any case, the future of humanity depends on wetlands. Wetlands not only clean and replenish our water, but also provide food, such as fish and rice, which feed billions of people. They also act as a natural sponge against floods and droughts. Wetlands have great biological diversity and play an important role as carbon sinks. Unfortunately, these benefits are not widely known, and wetlands are often seen as wastelands. Since 1900, 64 world wetlands have already disappeared.
For more information, visit the official World Wetlands Day website.
