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.

The UN General Assembly on 30 August 2021 adopted Resolution 75/317 that established 2 February as World Wetlands Day.

About Wetlands

A broad definition of wetlands is Land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.

They can be classified as follows.

1. Inland wetlands: Marshes, lakes, rivers, floodplains, peatlands and swamps 
2. Coastal wetlands:Saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and coral reefs
3. Human-made wetlands:Fish ponds, rice paddies and salt pans

Wetlands are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems. They provide essential services and supply all our fresh water. However they continue to be degraded and converted to other uses.

The wise use of wetlands is “the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development”. Wise use can thus be seen as the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and all the services they provide, for the benefit of people and nature.

For the list of Wetlands of International Importance, click here.

Wetlands in India

India is endowed by a rich diversity of wetlands ranging from high altitude wetlands of Himalayas, floodplains of mighty rivers as Ganges and Brahmaputra, lagoons and mangrove marshes on the coastline and reefs in the marine environments. As per National Wetland Atlas, India has nearly 4.6% of its land as wetlands, covering an area of 15.26 million hectares.  

India became a party to the Ramsar Convention in 1982, and as on 14 August 2022 has 75 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 13,26,677 ha hectares, the highest in South Asia.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as the nodal Ministry for wetlands conservation have been assisting State Governments since 1985 in design and implementation of integrated management plans. Financial assistance has been provided to State Governments for implementation of management plans for 180 wetlands. In 2017, the Ministry has also notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules as the regulatory framework for wetlands in the country. Several states have also notified wetland authorities and acts and rules for conservation and wise-use of wetlands.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Mission Sahbhagita in 2022 with a mission of ‘a healthy and effectively managed network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance which support water and food security; buffer from floods, droughts, cyclones and other extreme events; employment generation; conservation of species of local, national and international significance; climate change mitigation and adaptation actions; and recognition, conservation and celebration of cultural heritage.’

The Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:

• work towards the wise use of all their wetlands;
• designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management
• cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

Source : RAMSAR

Theme for 2023 - Wetland Restoration

The 2023 theme for World Wetlands Day is ‘Wetland Restoration’ which highlights the urgent need to prioritize wetland restoration. It is a call on an entire generation to take proactive action for wetlands, by investing financial, human and political capital to save the wetlands from disappearing and to revive and restore those that have been degraded.