About the Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) -- called the "Ramsar Convention" -- is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. Unlike the other global environmental conventions, Ramsar is not affiliated with the United Nations system of Multilateral Environmental Agreements, but it works very closely with the other MEAs and is a full partner among the "biodiversity-related cluster" of treaties and agreements.

Learn more about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – what it is now; where it came from, and why; how it works; what countries are members, and why they joined.

See also: The introductory brochure (PDF)

Further information & materials:

Ramsar and its mission Bodies of the Convention Contracting Parties Ramsar Sites Ramsar FAQs Brief history Partner Organizations Private Sector Partnerships Synergies with other conventions and organizations Ramsar Glossaries

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Number of » Contracting Parties: 160 Sites designated for the
» List of Wetlands of
International Importance: 1,995 Total surface area of designated sites (hectares): 192,078,656

Ramsar Secretariat

Rue Mauverney 28
CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 999 0170
Fax: +41 22 999 0169
E-Mail: ramsar@ramsar.org
Map: click here

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