The leaders agreed to seek official designation through Ramsar of 2.5 million hectares as a wetland of international importance. WWF today called on all governments to recognize that protecting wetlands should not be limited to developed countries. It points to Algeria as an example of leadership on this issue in the Mediterranean. The Algerian government picked World Wetlands Day to designate 10 desert wetland sites totaling about 1.8 million hectares, as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The sites made up of gueltas and oases, will form the largest block of wetlands to be conserved by a Mediterranean country.
Oases form in the desert, usually from a source high in the mountains.
Groundwater in the streambed surfaces to form shoals, which are given the special name of guelta. Not every country has a tropical rainforest or coral reef to conserve, but all have at least one type of freshwater ecosystem. Wetlands face many threats, as this photo of discarded pesticide canisters in the Menderes Delta, Turkey, illustrates. By going against the tide, Airbus will likely lose the respect of its hard earned customers, shareholders, and the public. We are confident that Airbus will stop its plans for Muhlenberger Loch and be able to celebrate World Wetlands Day next year.