An introduction to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention on the conservation and wise use of the World’s wetlands was agreed in response to widespread recognition of the declining condition of wetlands and the impact of this on wetland habitats and associated fauna. Since 1971, over 2000 wetlands have been listed as internationally important by 172 countries and covering more than 2,000,000km2. There have been considerable advances in the scientific understanding of wetlands, and today, the monitoring of these systems draws on multiple disciplinary approaches. The Convention itself has responded to these advances and the ongoing challenge to conserve the world’s wetlands. Importantly, signatory nations regularly report on the condition of wetlands, update listings, and have adopted a framework to ensure wise use of all wetlands. In turn, healthy wetlands are increasingly seen to afford considerable ecosystem services to human communities that rely on them for the provision of food and water and recreation and for their cultural and aesthetic values. Whilst the Convention has now passed its 50th anniversary, it is increasingly recognised that wetlands continually change over many time scales and that direct human pressures are merely one of the drivers that affect wetlands. The monitoring of these changes continues to allow the Convention and signatory nations to amend the framework to reflect emerging understanding of wetland change. These advances enable the Convention to encourage, and better allow, signatory nations to pursue social and economic outcomes whilst continuing to contribute to the pursuit of conserving the natural assets accommodated within the global network of significant wetlands.