2,000 Ramsar Sites worldwide!

Greetings:

160 Contracting Parties to the Convention have identified and placed 2,000 exceptional wetlands onto the List of Wetlands of International Importance. Presently, these 2,000 Ramsar Sites, covering almost 200,000,000 hectares, constitute the largest network of protected areas in the world.

Focus on quality, not just quantity

Parties have made a further commitment to ensure the conservation and wise use of their Ramsar Sites in order to maintain the full range of benefits that the wetlands can provide for people (e.g., livelihoods, health, culture) and the environment (e.g., in supporting biodiversity). Potential Ramsar Sites are carefully examined for designation under the Convention by referring to the 9 Criteria set to identify Wetlands of International Importance.

The Secretariat has selected here four recent designations in all regions of the world to show the beauty and uniqueness of wetlands.

Best regards,

The Ramsar Secretariat
*******************************

Sandra Hails
CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland (Switzerland)
Tel. +41 22 999 0176; fax +41 22 999 0169
www.ramsar.org | Join us: www.facebook.com/RamsarConventionOnWetlands