Ramsar Convention

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The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, or the Ramsar Convention, is an international treaty to protect wetlands and use them wisely. It is named after Ramsar, a city in Iran, where it was signed in 1971 and became active in 1975. The goal is to conserve wetlands that are important for birds and other life, and to promote sustainable use of these ecosystems.

Key bodies and how it works
- Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP): all countries that have joined the treaty meet every three years to set policy, designate sites, and make decisions to improve how the convention is carried out.
- Standing Committee: the COP’s executive body that works between COP meetings.
- Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP): gives scientific and technical advice.
- Secretariat: coordinates the day-to-day activities of the convention and is based with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Gland, Switzerland.
- International organization partners (IOPs): six other organizations that provide expert help, funding, and participate in meetings.

World Wetlands Day
- February 2 is World Wetlands Day, marking the 1971 adoption of the Ramsar Convention. It raises awareness about wetlands’ value for people and the planet. The first World Wetlands Day was in 1997.

History and scope
- Founders include Eskandar Firouz, Luc Hoffmann, and Geoffrey Matthews. The convention celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021.
- In recent years, the convention has grown to include thousands of wetlands worldwide. As of February 2025, there are 2,531 Ramsar sites covering over 2.6 million square kilometers.
- The United Kingdom has the most sites (about 175), followed by Mexico (142). Brazil holds the largest wetland area among listed sites (around 267,000 square kilometers).
- The Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS) is a database with details on each site.
- There are 18 transboundary Ramsar sites (shared by more than one country) and 15 regional initiatives that cover parts of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, and South America (these figures are from 2016).

Secretary-general
- Musonda Mumba is the seventh secretary-general of the Ramsar Convention.

Implementation and challenges
- The convention is widely adopted, but some countries still face challenges in fully implementing it. For example, Germany joined in 1976 but has not always met the convention’s full requirements, and Turkey has at times not published certain wetland management plans.