WORLD WETLANDS DAY
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February. This day 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. Designated sites are called RAMSAR Sites and today there are over 2,200 Ramsar Sites across 169 countries, covering more than 2.1 million square kilometres. That’s a lot of protected wetland!
The term Wetlands covers any area of land which is wet, either occasionally or permanently including saltmarshes, rivers, lakes, marshes, swamps and mosslands etc. Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment as they protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They provide habitat for animals and plants and many contain a wide diversity of life.
The term Wetlands covers any area of land which is wet, either occasionally or permanently including saltmarshes, rivers, lakes, marshes, swamps and mosslands etc. Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment as they protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They provide habitat for animals and plants and many contain a wide diversity of life.
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World Wetlands Day 2021: Wetlands and water-inseparable and vital for life
Wetlands and water”, the theme for WWD 2021, shines a spotlight on wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages actions to restore them and stop their loss.
We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands.
The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet.
We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands.
The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet.
What wetlands do?
Fresh and saltwater wetlands sustain humanity and nature. They support our social and economic development through multiple services:
1- Store and clean water
Fresh and saltwater wetlands sustain humanity and nature. They support our social and economic development through multiple services:
1- Store and clean water
- Wetlands hold and provide most of our freshwater.
- They naturally filter pollutants, leaving water we can safely drink.
- Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector, while inland fisheries alone provided 12 million tonnes of fish in 2018.
- Rice paddies feed 3.5 billion people annually.
- Wetlands, the most valuable ecosystem, provide services worth US $47 trillion a year.
- More than one billion people rely on wetlands for income.
- 40% of the world’s species live and breed in wetlands. Annually, about 200 new fish species discovered in freshwater wetlands.
- Coral reefs are home to 25% of all species.
- Wetlands provide protection from floods and storms with each acre of wetland absorbing up to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater.
- Wetlands help regulate the climate: peatlands store twice as much carbon as forests, with salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds also holding vast amounts of carbon.
So what are the solutions to water scarcity?
We could have enough water for nature and us if we:
We could have enough water for nature and us if we:
- Stop destroying, start restoring wetlands.
- Don’t dam rivers or over-extract from aquifers.
- Address pollution, cleanup freshwater sources.
- Increase water efficiency, use wetlands wisely.
- Integrate water and wetlands into development plans and resource management.
