World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.

World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, launches of new policies, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.

World Wetlands Day 2009

The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2009 is "Upstream-Downstream: Wetlands connect us all". This is in recognition of how interconnected we all are within river basins and the impact that activities upstream have on the lower parts of a river catchment.

Wetlands have numerous functions:

wetlands provide habitat for plants and animals such as amphibians, fish, reptiles, mammals and birds
wetlands help control flood waters by acting like a giant sponge, absorbing water during heavy rainfall then slowly releasing it back into the ecosystem
wetlands can assist in erosion control as they are often located between water bodies and high ground. The roots of the vegetation help to protect soil from high impact events such as wave action or heavy rainfall events
wetlands are important culturally and for recreational activities
wetlands enhance water quality as they act like giant kidneys, purifying and processing nutrients, suspended materials and other pollutants

Sustainable river basin management is extremely important to maintain the functions and ecosystems services of a wetland. World Wetlands Day 2009 aims to raise awareness on how we can all support healthy rivers and assess how our actions affect those downstream.

Calendar of events

Organising a World Wetlands Day event?

If your local community organisation has an activity that they would like to be part of World Wetlands Day 2009, please contact wetlandsmail@environment.gov.au to have it added to the Calendar of events.