The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands).[2] It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971.
Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat
Ramsar logo
Signed
2 February 1971
Location
Ramsar, Iran
Effective
21 December 1975
Condition
Ratification by 7 states
Signatories
23[1]
Parties
172[1]
Depositary
Director General of UNESCO
Languages
English (prevailing in case of divergence), French, German, Russian and Spanish[1]
Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the convention which adopts decisions (site designations, resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives.[3] In 2022, COP14 was co-held in Wuhan, China, and Geneva, Switzerland.
The Upper Navua Conservation Area Ramsar site in Fiji
Sustainable fishing in India, an example of wise use.
List of wetlands of international importance
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Main article: List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance
Archipel Bolama-Bijagos Ramsar site in Guinea-Bissau
The list of wetlands of international importance included 2,331 Ramsar sites in May 2018 covering over 2.1 million square kilometres (810,000 sq mi). The countries with most sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142. The country with the largest surface area of listed wetland is Bolivia, with around 148,000 square kilometres (57,000 sq mi).[4]
The Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS) is a searchable database which provides information on each Ramsar site.[5]
International cooperation
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Main article: List of parties to the Ramsar Convention
The Wadden Sea is a transboundary Ramsar site in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands
As of 2016 there are 18 transboundary Ramsar sites, and 15 Ramsar regional initiatives covering regions of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, and South America.
International organization partners
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The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other organisations known as international organization partners (IOPs). These are:
BirdLife International
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Wetlands International
WWF International
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
These organizations support the work of the convention by providing expert technical advice, helping implement field studies, and providing financial support. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the conference of the parties and as full members of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel.
Other partners
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The convention collaborates with a network of partners:
Biodiversity-related conventions including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the World Heritage Convention (WHC), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES);
Project funding bodies including global environmental funds, multilateral development banks and bilateral donors;
UN agencies such as UNEP, UNDP, UNESCO, and the UN Economic Commission for Europe, and specific programmes such as UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB);
Non-governmental organizations including the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the Society of Wetland Scientists, the International Association for Impact Assessment, and many others;
Since 1998 the convention has also benefited from a strong partnership with Danone including the Évian brand, and since 2007 from the Biosphere Connections partnership with the Star Alliance airline network.
