Ramsar Convention

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
RAMSAR Logo

The Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty to protect wetlands.[1] It is meant to stop the loss of wetland areas now and in the future. It recognizes that wetlands are an important ecosystem. It also recognizes that wetlands have economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the town of Ramsar in Iran.

Convention[edit]

The convention was developed and agreed to by 18 nations at a meeting in Ramsar on February 2, 1971. It came into force on December 21, 1975.

The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance now includes 2,429 sites, which are called Ramsar Sites, covering around 254,611,076 hectares.[1] This has increased from 1,021 sites in 2000. The nation with the most sites is the United Kingdom at 168. The nation with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Canada, with over 130,000 km², including the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary at 62,800 km².[2]

There are now 159 nations that have agreed to the convention. The nations meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP). The first meeting was held in Cagliari, Italy, in 1980. Changes to the original convention have been agreed to in Paris (1982) and Regina (1987).[3]

There is a standing committee, a scientific review panel, and a secretariat. The headquarters is in Gland, Switzerland, shared with the IUCN.

List of contracting parties[edit]

Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, former USSR.

New contracting parties: Antigua and Barbuda (02.10.05), Cape Verde (18.11.05), Central African Republic (05.04.06), Iraq (17.02.08), Kazakhstan (15.01.07), Lesotho (01.11.04), Marshall Islands (13.11.04), Montenegro (succ. 03.06.06), Mozambique (03.12.04), Myanmar (17.03.05), Rwanda (01.04.06), Samoa (06.02.05), Seychelles (22.03.05), Sudan (07.05.05), Turkmenistan (03.07.09), United Arab Emirates (29.12.07), Yemen (08.02.08).

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ramsar official website, retrieved 2021-08-19
  2. Ramsar Contracting Parties, retrieved 2009-11-07
  3. Ramsar: A brief history, retrieved 2009-11-07

External links[edit]

Information red.svg
Scan the QR code to donate via UPI
Dear reader, We kindly request your support in maintaining the independence of Bharatpedia. As a non-profit organization, we rely heavily on small donations to sustain our operations and provide free access to reliable information to the world. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to consider donating to our cause, as it would greatly aid us in our mission. Your contribution would demonstrate the importance of reliable and trustworthy knowledge to you and the world. Thank you.

Please select an option below or scan the QR code to donate
₹150 ₹500 ₹1,000 ₹2,000 ₹5,000 ₹10,000 Other