World Wetlands Day 2023: It’s time for wetland restoration

Every year, on the 2^nd of February, we celebrate World Wetlands Day (WWD) to raise global awareness about the high importance of wetlands for people and our planet. WWD is also an occasion to commemorate the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971.

Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests, and more than 35% of wetlands have been degraded or lost since 1970. Reversing this trend is critical.

”It’s time for wetland restoration”, the theme for WWD 2023, highlights the urgent need to prioritize wetland restoration, and calls on an entire generation to take steps to revive and restore degraded wetlands.

7 best practices in wetland restoration

Consider the multitude of services the natural wetland provided, and aim to recapture a wide range of those benefits, not just one or two.
Aim to recreate a wetland ecosystem that can maintain itself
Integrate local communities and industries during planning and implementation.
Identify the causes of degradation and limit or eliminate them.
Clean up the degraded area.
Restore native vegetation and wildlife, and remove invasive species.
Restrict site access, creating specific places for people and animals.

7 key benefits from restored wetlands

Increased biodiversity.
Replenished and filtered water supply.
Enhanced protection against floods and storms.
More local and sustainable livelihoods, less poverty.
Increased tourism, higher quality leisure time.
Increased carbon storage and avoided emissions.
Inner satisfaction of achieving a transformation.

Communication materials for WWD 2023

Today, we are pleased to announce that all materials, comprising guides, posters, factsheets, presentations, logos, etc that have been provided by the Ramsar Secretariat are, now available to download.