World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2nd February to raise awareness about the essential role of wetlands for people and our planet. This day also marks the anniversary of the official signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the Caspian Sea shores, and since then the Convention on Wetlands, known as the “Ramsar Convention.”.
This day was established to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands for humanity. In 1997, World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the first time, and from then on it is celebrated every year. To understand the values and benefits of wetlands, such as conservation, every year different government agencies, non-government agencies, and groups of citizens take the opportunity to raise public awareness.
What is the theme of World Wetlands Day 2025?
Every year, WWD is celebrated with a specific theme to raise awareness about the value of wetlands. This year, the theme of World Wetlands Day 2025 is “Protecting Wetland for our common Future.”
This year’s World Wetlands Day (DWD) will be extremely important because it falls on the same date as COP15, the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands. Government representatives from each of the contracting parties convene every three years to agree on a work program for the upcoming three years and to promote important debates on the preservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Under the same theme as World Wetlands Day 2025, Zimbabwe will host COP15, a worldwide conservation conference, in Victoria Falls from July 23–31, 2025.
What are the Wetlands?
Wetlands are areas of land that are surrounded by saturated and floodwater; it can be either permanent or seasonal. There are two types of wetlands: “inland wetlands and coastal wetlands.” Inland wetlands include ponds, lakes, marshes, fens, floodplains, rivers, and swamps. The coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, mangroves, lagoons, estuaries, and coral reefs, and there are also human-made wetlands, which consist of fish ponds, saltpans, and rice paddies.
Which is the largest wetland in India?
In India, Vembanad Lake or Vembanad Kayal wetland is the largest wetland in India. It is also included in the list of international importance, defined by the Ramsar Convention for the sustainable and conservation utilization of wetlands.
Which is the world’s largest wetland?
The world’s largest wetland is Pantanal, which is a natural region that encompasses the world’s largest tropical wetland area located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Note: This year two lakes of Ladakh, India, Tso and Tso Kar, are added to the list of high-altitude wetland under the Ramsar Convention, which take the country count to 42 highest in South Asia.
How to celebrate World Wetlands Day?
To celebrate World Wetlands Day countries, organize different events to raise awareness, such as lectures, seminars, children’s art contests, community clean-up days, radio and television interviews, nature walks, letters, and newspapers. People can also organize a conference or an open day at the Wetland Centre or the Wetland of International Importance; they can also invite wetland experts who can explain the role of wetland biodiversity.
Swikriti Dandotia
