29 Jan 2016

World Wetlands Day 2016: Wetlands for our future

World Wetlands Day is observed on 2 February every year. On this day in 1971, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was officially adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

Since 1977, the Ramsar Secretariat has been helping to raise awareness about the value and importance of wetlands. One of the public outreach initiatives they created was the launch of World Wetlands Day.

The theme of World Wetlands Day 2016 is ‘Wetlands for our future: Sustainable livelihoods’, which aims to demonstrate the vital role of wetlands for humanity and their relevance towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 

DHI has been supporting developments in wetlands management through projects and initiatives that we participate in. In line with this year’s theme of sustainable livelihood, revisit our case story ‘Supporting the Okavango Delta Management Plan’ to see how we helped Botswana protect the Okavango Delta wetland system – many people derive their livelihood in the delta and it serves as a source of revenue from tourism.

More recently, DHI GRAS was appointed to lead a consortium to carry out the 1.5 million Euros GlobWetland Africa Project. Access the news article here

Many World Wetlands Day celebrations throughout the world are now listed on Ramsar’s list of events. Don’t forget to join or add your own!