Information on wise use of wetlands specified under Article 3 of the Ramsar Convention

The 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, Regina, Canada,
27 May - 5 June 1987

[Note: the Annex to the Regina Recommendations consisted of three parts. The first was a version of the "Criteria for Identifying Wetlands of International Importance" which has been superseded by later versions. The third was an early version of the Guidelines on Wise Use which has also been rendered obsolete by the 1990 Guidelines. The second part of the Annex was the Definition of Wise Use that is included here. -- Web Editor.]

Definition of wise use:

"The wise use of wetlands is their sustainable utilization for the benefit of humankind in a way compatible with the maintenance of the natural properties of the ecosystem".

Sustainable utilization is defined as "human use of a wetland so that it may yield the greatest continuous benefit to present generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations".

Natural properties of the ecosystem are defined as "those physical, biological or chemical components, such as soil, water, plants, animals and nutrients, and the interactions between them".