Background
On 30 August 2021, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2 February as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness of the urgency of reversing the accelerating loss of wetlands and to promote their conservation and restoration. The day marks the date of the adoption of the "Convention on Wetlands of International Importance" held in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Through the designation of protected areas, the implementation of effective policies, and the sharing of knowledge, the Convention enables countries to take measures to protect their wetlands and to use them wisely. Adopted by 172 countries, each country joining the Convention must designate at least one wetland to be included in the .
Wetlands and the SDGs
Healthy wetlands are essential to achieving the following Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 6, which focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, and its target 6.6, which seeks to protect and restore water-related ecosystems; Goal 14, on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, including its target 14.2, which seeks to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems; and Goal 15, related to life on land, and its target 15.1, which seeks to ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.