State of Wetlands

Ramsar is the oldest of the modern intergovernmental environmental agreements. The treaty was negotiated by countries and non- governmental organizations concerned about the increasing loss and degradation of wetlands for migratory waterbirds. It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.  

The mission of the Ramsar Convention is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.

Contracting Parties are committed to:

• working towards the wise use of all their wetlands;
• designating suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) and ensure their effective management;
• cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13) will be held at the Festival Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 21 to 29 October 2018.

The theme for COP13 is “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future”, which was also the focus of the 2018 World Wetlands Day. The theme underlines the importance of urban wetlands helping make cities liveable, by providing drinking water, livelihoods, green spaces for recreation, reducing floods, and filtering waste.

The COP13 host nation, the United Arab Emirates, has been a member state of the Ramsar Convention since 2007 and has seven designated Ramsar Sites. Although the UAE is situated in one of the world's most arid regions, their wetland ecosystems are some of the most unique and diverse in the Arabian Peninsula.

We have lost approximately 35% of the world’s wetlands between 1970-2015. Annual rates of loss accelerated from the year 2000, according to the first-ever Global Wetland Outlook launched in September 2018.

Losses have been driven by megatrends such as climate change, population increase, urbanization, particularly of coastal zones and river deltas, and changing consumption patterns. These have all fuelled changes to land and water use, and to agriculture.

The persistent and growing threat to the world’s remaining wetlands come from water drainage, pollution, unsustainable use, invasive species, disrupted water flows due to dams and sediment dumping from deforestation and soil erosion upstream.

In contrast to natural wetlands, human made wetlands-largely rice paddies and reservoirs- almost doubled in the last 45 years, now forming 12% of wetlands, according to the definition of a wetland by the Ramsar Convention. These increases have not compensated for natural wetland loss. The irony is stark.

Read: Ramsar Global Wetland Outlook Report

Wetlands need global attention. Contracting Parties to the Convention have committed to maintaining the ecological character of over 2,300 Wetlands of International Importance covering nearly 250 million hectares, 13-18% of global wetlands.

The Ramsar Convention is uniquely positioned to reverse the loss of global wetlands. As the only international treaty focused on wetlands, it provides a platform to deliver many global wetland-related targets. Wetlands contribute directly or indirectly to 75 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

The Global Wetland Outlook provides uncomfortable reading. Overall we are losing more than we are gaining. The ambition of the Convention remains high, but so does the decline in wetlands.

Highlighted in the report on progress against SDG 6.6* at the UN High-LevelPolitical Forum in July: The world has lost 70 per cent of its natural wetland extent, including a significant loss of freshwater species over the last 100 years. Ecosystems and their services are in continuous decline. _{(*By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers,aquifers and lakes)}

We have hit the point where wetland decline is being used as a global indicator of failure.  Failure to protect our ecosystems, and failure in our ambition for sustainable development.

More action is needed, and quickly. More resources are needed.  More awareness of the Convention and its need to operate at the national level with broader water management and land-use planning processes is needed.  As the complex demands on freshwater systems increases, and our understanding of our impacts on them improves, so too does the need to support the Convention beyond the focus on habitat protection at its creation.

Critical for the protection of wetlands as habitat and providers of ecosystem goods and services is the recognition of the role wetlands play in social and economic development. 

Download the Infographic 'State of Ramsar Wetlands'

Globally, the deterioration of all wetlands is very real, and overshadows improvements in management, restoration and protection. 

But this deterioration can be slowed, and reversed.  There is clear and direct improvement in Ramsar sites by using the power of the Convention to designate more sites and ensure their effective management.  As an indicator of clear success, designating wetlands as Ramsar sites and properly upholding and resourcing the management of the sites brings clear benefits. 

Despite this, and even with this designation, some Countries reported sites deteriorating even with Ramsar status.  This decline has to be reversed in line with the spirit, and obligations, under the Convention.

An Open Letter from International Organization Partners of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was published following the launch of the Wetland Outlook report in order to draw attention to the fact the world is off-track to achieve SDG 6 and support the Ramsar Advisory Missions as an essential service to countries who are signatories to the Ramsar Convention. 

Ramsar Advisory Missions form a powerful part of the toolkit available to countries who are signatories to the Ramsar Convention.  Use of these Missions to help support Contracting Parties could increase and be re-positioned more centrally in resource allocation as an awareness and management response tool to help countries react to concerns over Ramsar sites.

We need to stop wetlands being used as an indicator of failure. We all must make the Convention the success it needs to be, and the success it was hoped to be when it was adopted 43 years ago. 

Read More: 'World must act now to strengthen protection of most important wetlands'

For more information, please visit websites: IUCN Water Programme & Ramsar Convention

_{Photos: Shutterstock • Icon: The Noun Project • Logos: IUCN • Twitter: @IUCN_Water @RamsarConv • Hashtags: #SaveOurWetlands #WetlandsForOurFuture #WEValueWetlands • Editor: Claire Warmenbol, IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature}