The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The Ramsar Library

The Ramsar Library is a Web collection of reprints of the physical publications of the Ramsar Convention, readable right here in HTML or PDF format. Most of these are available in hard-copy form either directly from the Secretariat or for purchase from The IUCN Publications Unit (books@iucn.org).

The Ramsar Toolkit: Handbooks on the Wise Use of Wetlands, 3rd ed. (2007), a set of 17 brochures containing guidance on the conservation and wise use of wetlands adopted by the Conference of the Parties through COP9 (2005), with lots of illustrative examples, case studies, and photographs, first published in 2000 in PDF format on CD-ROM by the United Nations University and now updated by with the latest approved documents. The Handbooks are currently in preparation, and the English versions have all been published -- some volumes of the French and Spanish versions have already been posted and the rest will be completed soon. The Handbooks are also available in English, French, and Spanish in PDF format on a CD-ROM, as well as on this Web site.

Proceedings of Ramsar COP9 on CD-ROM. The outcomes from the Convention's 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in Kampala in November 2005, have been available onthe Ramsar Web site for some time, but now the full COP9 Proceedings can also be seen on CD-ROM. The CDs, which cover English, French, and Spanish versions of all documents, include the Conference Report, the Resolutions adopted by the COP, the list of participants, the National Reports submitted by the Parties prior to the COP, the Wetland Conservation Award winners, results of the pre-COP regional meetings, and the background information documents provided in advance of the COP itself. All of these materials can also be viewed on this Web site in

Ramsar Technical Reports. An occasional series that includes the detailed technical background reviews and reports prepared by the Convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) at the request of Contracting Parties, which would previously have been made available in most instances only as "Information Papers" for a meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP). Other reports not originating from COP requests to the STRP, but which are considered by the STRP to provide information relevant to supporting implementation of the Convention, may be proposed for inclusion in the series. All Ramsar Technical Reports are peer-reviewed by the members and observers appointed to the STRP and are chiefly published in English in electronic (PDF) format. When resources permit, the reports will be published also in French and Spanish (the other official languages of the Convention) and/or in printed form. The series editors are Heather MacKay (Chair of the STRP), Max Finlayson (former Chair of the STRP), and Nick Davidson (Deputy Secretary General, Ramsar Secretariat).

The Ramsar Manual, 4th edition. A 116-page overview of the Ramsar Convention, its history and present structures, the services it provides, the workings of the Conference of the Parties, the Standing Committee, the Scientific and Technical Review Panel, and the Secretariat, along with a brief guide to further information, the guidance documents, and the Resolutions and Recommendations of the COP. The 4th edition is current as of December 2006.

Manual de la Convención de Ramsar: Guía a la Convención sobre los Humedales (Ramsar, Irán, 1971), 4a. edición.

Le Manuel de la Convention de Ramsar: Guide de la Convention sur les zones humides (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), 4e édition

Earlier editions of the Ramsar Manual are still available here:

Ramsar Information Packs

Wetland Values and Functions. The famous Ramsar info pack, first published for World Wetlands Day 2001 -- 10 fact sheets provide introductions to such issues as flood control, groundwater replenishment, shoreline stabilisation & storm protection, sediment & nutrient retention and export, climate change mitigation, water purification and many others. Available in English, French, and Spanish versions in hard copy from the Secretariat and available here in PDF format.

The Cultural Heritage of Wetlands. A folder of eleven fact sheets first produced for World Wetlands Day 2002, covering such topics as art and music, spiritual life, artisanal uses of wetlands, cultural management, cultural landscapes, and more. Available in hard copy from the Secretariat in English, French, and Spanish versions and in PDF format here.

Basic info pack. Nineteen brief fact sheets that provide a brief introduction to wetlands, the Convention, its structures and operations, and its present status. Largely overlaps with the Ramsar Manual (above) but handier.

The Annotated List of Wetlands of International Importance

The Annotated List of Wetlands of International Importance, ca.420 pages, was first published in February 2000 and is revised and reprinted approximately every three months.  It includes basic information and a brief descriptive paragraph about every Ramsar site in the world. The spiral-bound hard copy is available free of charge from the Ramsar Secretariat, and the Web version, which is updated with every bit of new information, is available on this Web site.

Towards the Wise Use of Wetlands: Report of the Ramsar Convention Wise Use Project (Ramsar, 1993), edited by T. J. Davis. All the relevant documents on wise use (Guidelines, Additional Guidance, etc.), plus 17 case studies at international, national and local levels.

An extremely valuable source for the overall message and the collection of documents, but in addition some of the case studies constitutethe best material on individual Ramsar sites that you're likely to find anywhere.

Prof. G. V. T. Matthews, The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: its History and Development (Ramsar, 1993). Published in English only.

The history of the movement throughout the 1960s from which evolved the Ramsar Convention in 1971, and its development since, up to about 1993.   Written by Prof. Geoffrey Matthews (pictured), one of the Convention's "founding fathers" who was part of the story from the beginning. Particularly invaluable for the decade-long period of negotations on the proposed text of the treaty prior to its adoption, about which little published material is available.

Edward B. Barbier, Mike Acreman, and Duncan Knowler, Economic Valuation of Wetlands: a Guide for Policy Makers and Planners (Ramsar, 1997). Outlines the needs for, and benefits of, economic valuation techniques as applied to wetlands and development projects intended to alter them, and describes a few of these techniques in some detail. A number of case studies, a glossary, and a 10-page bibliography increase the importance of this book for theoreticians and practical managers alike. Published in English, French and Spanish.

Évaluation économique des zones humides

Valoración económica de los humedales

A. J. Hails, editor

Wetlands, Biodiversity and the Ramsar Convention: the role of the Convention on Wetlands in the Conservation and Wise Use of Biodiversity (Ramsar, 1996 [1997]). Published in English only.

An excellent collection with introductory chapters by Peter Bacon and Michael Smart and nearly 30 case studies from all the Ramsar regions; the editor, Sandra Hails, has put together a contributors list that reads like a who's who of international wetlands experts.

Cyril de Klemm in collaboration with Isabelle Créteaux

The Legal Development of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (2 February 1971) (Ramsar, 1995). A 70-page study of the legal evolution of the Convention text through amendments and interpretive Resolutions by the Conference of the Parties, from the beginning to about 1994, written by the late Cyril de Klemm, a renowned scholar of international environmental law and expert adviser to the Ramsar Convention.

L'Evolution juridique de la Convention de Ramsar La Evolución Jurídica de la Convención de Ramsar

Ramsar video. A 22-minute film about threats to wetlands worldwide and the Ramsar Convention's role in finding solutions, with five case studies of promising work in field. Created in 2002, but much of it is still relevant. The VHS films are out of stock now, but the 115-megabyte .MOV version is still available for download here.

See also the Wise Use Resource Library, which contains reprints of National Wetland Policies and other government policies, examples of wetland site management plans, and reprinted articles about the Ramsar Convention from external journals.

For further information,   please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). This index page was begun 10 October 1997 and last updated on 7 November 2007, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.