World Wetlands Day - 2nd February

Happy World Wetlands Day! World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2nd of February!

It marks the date in 1971 when the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar, drawing attention to the importance of wetlands.

Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet, WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and has grown remarkably since then.

The theme for 2017 “Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction” is selected to raise awareness and to highlight the vital role of healthy wetlands in reducing the impacts of extreme events such as floods, droughts and cyclones on communities, and in helping to build resilience.

As an important category of wetlands, mangrove forests grow along tropical coastlines and in salt water environments. They are a critical component of marine ecosystems, serving as nursery grounds for many aquatic species, including commercially important fish species.  Mangroves also serve as excellent buffer zones between open ocean and coastal lands, reducing the impacts of storms, and keeping coastal erosion under control.

Mangrove forests were also shown to have reduced the impact of the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami. These rich ecosystems are threatened mostly by conversion into aquaculture (shrimp farms) and agriculture, urban and resort development and rising sea levels.

Read more on: UNESCO WHC and World Wetlands Day

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Taxonomy

• Watershed Management
• Ecosystem Management
• Watershed
• Wetlands
• Constructed Wetlands
• Conservation
• Environmental
• Wetlands
• Ecosystem