World Wetlands Day 2013 Focuses on Wetlands and Water Management

Bonn/Gland, 2 February 2013 - World Wetlands Day (WWD) is celebrated on 2 February each year and marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

The theme of this year’s World Wetlands Day is Wetlands and Water Management, a major area of work that the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel of (STRP) has been dealing with over the years, which has resulted in much helpful guidance for the Ramsar Parties.

This year Ramsar has joined hands with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP), which will provide a unique platform to celebrate World Wetlands Day 2013, as well as supporting Ramsar with the production of WWD materials.

The slogan of the WWD 2013 campaign is Wetlands Take Care of Water, which underlines the fact that wetlands are fundamental regulators of water regimes and essential elements of water infrastructure within water management, as well as the value of wetlands as a socio-economic, cultural and scientific resource. The water cycle is very complex and human activities have a significant impact on this never-ending cycle. Basically we are all water managers, not just the water companies or government regulators; every time we turn on a tap or buy food, we are responsible for a small element of the much larger water management cycle.

For more information on WWD 2013 and the role that wetlands play in the water cycle, visit the WWD 2013 website or download the WWD 2013 leaflet.