Fact Sheet

6Convention
on Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention:
What’s it all about?
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance,
more commonly known as the Ramsar Convention,is an international agreement promoting the conservation
and wise use of wetlands. It is the only global treaty
to focus on a single ecosystem.

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The Ramsar Convention today has
168 Contracting Parties (membercountries), and is so named for the city
in Iran where the treaty was signed in1971. Through this agreement, membercountries positively commit to:

Why should I care about
Wetlands ?

Wise use of all their wetlands

Wetlands provide fresh water

Designating sites for the Ramsar
List of “Wetlands of International
Importance” (Ramsar Sites) and theirconservation

Freshwater wetlands give us our water forbasic drinking, cooking and washing needs
and for irrigation.

Cooperating on transboundary
wetlands and other shared interests
As of April 2015, there are over 2100
designated Ramsar Sites covering
more than 208 million hectares;
an area slightly larger than Mexico.
The official list of Ramsar Sites isavailable on the Convention website at:www.ramsar.org.
Wetlands on the Ramsar list aredesignated for their high value to thecountry and the world for the ecosystemservices and benefits provided.

What are Wetlands?
The definition of the word ‘wetland’,
under the Convention, is any land areathat is saturated or flooded with water,
either seasonally or permanently.
Inland wetlands include aquifers,
lakes, rivers, streams, marshes,peatlands, ponds, flood plains andswamps. Coastal wetlands include all
coastlines, mangroves, saltmarshes,
estuaries, lagoons, seagrass meadowsand coral reefs.

www.ramsar.org
Fact Sheet 6.1Traditionally viewed as wasteland or abreeding ground for disease, wetlands arevital for humanity for a number of reasons:Wetlands feed humanity

Rice, grown in wetland paddies, is thestaple diet of nearly three billion people, andaccounts for 20 % of the world’s food.

Wetlands are nature’s shock absorbers

The wetlands within river basins act as naturalsponges, absorbing rainfall, reducing flood
impact and this same storage capacity also
helps safeguard against drought. Mangrovesand coral reefs reduce the speed and heightof storm surges and impact of tsunamis
and hurricanes.

Wetlands are critical for biodiversity
Wetlands are home to more than 100,000
known freshwater species, and this number
is growing all the time. Wetlands are alsoessential for many amphibians, as well as
for bird breeding and migration.

Wetlands create sustainable products
and livelihoods
More than 660 million people depend on
fishing and aquaculture for their livelihoods.
Wetlands also provide timber for building,vegetable oil, medicinal plants, raw material
for weaving and fodder for animals.

Wetlands are
disappearing fast–––Recent estimates show that 64 %or more of the world’s wetlands havedisappeared since 1900. Someof the main causes of the degradationand loss of wetlands are:
Major changes in land use, especially
increased agriculture and grazing
Water diversion through dams,
dykes and canalization
Infrastructure development,
particularly in urban areas, rivervalleys and coastal areas.

How are Ramsar Sites
designated?
Ramsar Sites are designatedby the National Administrative
Authority, responsible for the Ramsar
Convention in each country, if
they meet the technical criteria, andafter due consideration of theirrelative importance.

Ramsar Convention:
working to prevent,stop and reverse wetland
loss and degradation–––––Together with the Contracting
Parties, Partners and International
Organization Partners (IOPs),
the Ramsar Convention works to:
Encourage policies and land use
planning that integrate wetland issues
Enthuse the public about the benefits
and services that wetlands provide
Ensure significant investment into
increasing awareness by working withprivate sector actors such as DanoneEvian and Star Alliance
Forge alliances that align privateand public sector actors to reverse thealarming loss and degradation
Develop financing sources for wetland
conservation and management.

Ramsar Sites support livelihoods

Philippines
Tubbataha Reefs NaturalMarine Park Ramsar Site■■

Both a Ramsar Site and a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, the park charges tourists
a conservation fee, which is used to manage
this protected area, to compensate fishermen
for the no-take zone and to fund livelihood
initiatives for local communities. Scuba
diving is limited to specific areas to protect
the reefs from potential damage.

The views and designations expressed in this publication arethose of its authors and do not represent officially-adopted viewsof the Ramsar Convention or its Secretariat.
Reproduction of this document in whole or in part and in any form
for educational or non-profit purposes may be made without special
permission from the copyright holders, provided acknowledgmentof the source is made. The Secretariat would appreciate receivinga copy of any publication or material that uses this document
as a source.
Except where otherwise noted, this work is protected undera Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works License.

Kenya
Lake Nakuru Ramsar Site■■

Lake Nakuru is one of Kenya’s iconic tourist
sites. 60% of the site’s 245,000 visitors eachyear come from abroad. International tourists
are charged an entrance fee of $US 80,
while domestic visitors pay a reduced fee
equivalent to $ US 11. Revenues totalled nearly$ US 8.4 million in 2010, which helped topay for park management, with $ US 42,000
poured back into local conservation activities
each month.

Ramsar Fact Sheets are published by the Ramsar Convention
Secretariat in English, French and Spanish (the official languagesof the Ramsar Convention) in electronic format, and also in printed
form when required.
Ramsar Fact Sheets can be downloaded from:www.ramsar.org/library
Information about the STRP can be found at:www.ramsar.org/about/the-scientific-technical-review-panel
For more information about Ramsar Fact Sheets or torequest information on how to correspond with their authors,please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat at:
strp@ramsar.org© 2015 The Ramsar Convention Secretariat

Fact Sheet 6.2

Argentina
Lagunas y Esteros del Iberá
Ramsar Site■■

Almost 17,000 visitors per year have helped
to revive the local economy and build aconservation-based tourism around the Ramsar
Site near Colonia Carlos Pellegrini. This hascreated new jobs and diversified livelihoods,
with around 90 % of local people supported
through work in the tourism sector withsurrounding communities receiving assistanceto establish nature trails and train local
tourist guides.

The Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands ofInternational Importance,
commonly known as the Ramsar
Convention, is a global intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international
cooperation for the conservation and wise useof wetlands and their resources. It is the only
global treaty to focus on one single ecosystem.