Spreading the Ramsar 40th messages
"A global network of wetlands for sustaining people and our environment"
Argentina designated Palmar Yatay Ramsar Site on 4 July 2011 (© Fernando Raffo).
A key commitment of Ramsar Contracting Parties is to identify and place suitable wetlands onto the List of Wetlands of International Importance (also called ‘Ramsar Sites’). Parties have made a further commitment to ensure the conservation and wise use of these Ramsar Sites so as to maintain the full range of benefits that the wetland can provide for people (e.g., livelihoods, health, culture) and the environment (e.g., in supporting biodiversity).
In this birthday year for the Ramsar Convention, we strongly encourage our Contracting Parties to designate more Ramsar Sites! Click here to see which one of the Ramsar regions in the world has the largest number of designations so far (January 2011 – July 2011).
What needs to be done next?
» Follow the link here to see our key message for this month and additional tools to expand on the message.
» Ramsar 40th anniversary celebrations
The Ramsar Convention on wetlands
The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.