2 February 2009 marks 12th World Wetlands Day!

Bonn, 2 February 2009 - With the slogan “Upstream-Downstream: Wetlands connect us all” World Wetlands Day (WWD) is being celebrated in many different countries around the world today. This year’s WWD theme underlines the importance of wetlands to people and biodiversity and highlights the interconnectiveness of ecosystems and the significance of wetlands as one of the most productive habitats of the world.

Wetlands provide drinking water for humans and habitats for many species, including a large number of migratory waterbird species. Many migratory waterbirds could not survive without wetlands, because these ecosystems secure their possibilities to breed, nest and rest during their long journeys.

Efforts to conserve wetland biodiversity and processes also help maintain the very ecosystems upon which waterbirds depend. In turn, waterbirds are considered to be flagship indicators of the health of wetland ecosystems, as they are amongst the most studied and regularily monitored species in the world.

World Wetlands Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971 and was celebrated for the first time in 1997. Since then, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have been encouraged to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.

For more information and to learn how to participate in World Wetlands Day (WWD) please visit: www.ramsar.org