A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,[1] also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an international environmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, under the auspices of UNESCO. It came into force on 21 December 1975, when it was ratified by a sufficient number of nations. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources.[1] Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those providing waterfowl habitat.

Harike Wetland is a Ramsar site in India
Map of Ramsar sites
Archipel Bolama-Bijagos Ramsar site in Guinea-Bissau
Walkway in Zuvintas Biosphere Reserve

As of October 2024, there are 2,521 Ramsar sites around the world, protecting 257,317,367 hectares (635,845,060 acres), and 172 national governments are participating.[1]

Site listings

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The non-profit organisation Wetlands International provides access to the Ramsar database via the Ramsar Sites Information Service.[2]

Ramsar site criteria

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A wetland can be considered internationally important if any of the following nine criteria apply:[3]

  • Criterion 1: "it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region."
  • Criterion 2: "it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities."
  • Criterion 3: "it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region."
  • Criterion 4: "it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions."
  • Criterion 5: "it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds."
  • Criterion 6: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird."
  • Criterion 7: "it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity."
  • Criterion 8: "it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend."
  • Criterion 9: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species."

Classification

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The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type is a wetland classification developed within the Ramsar Convention intended as a means for fast identification of the main types of wetlands for the purposes of the Convention.[4]

Marine/coastal wetlands

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Inland wetlands

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  • Fresh water:
    • Flowing water:
    • Lakes/pools:
      • Permanent >8 ha (O)
      • Permanent < 8 ha(Tp)
      • Seasonal / Intermittent > 8 ha (P)
      • Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
    • Marshes on inorganic soils:
      • Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp)
      • Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (shrub dominated)(W)
      • Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (tree dominated) (Xf)
      • Seasonal/intermittent (herb dominated) (Ts)
    • Marshes on peat soils:
      • Permanent (non-forested)(U)
      • Permanent (forested)(Xp)
    • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils:
      • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / High altitude (alpine) (Va)
      • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / Tundra (Vt)
  • Saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
    • Lakes
      • Permanent (Q)
      • Seasonal/intermittent (R)
    • Marshes/pools
      • Permanent (Sp)
      • Seasonal/intermittent (Ss)
  • Fresh, saline, brackish or alkaline waters:

Human-made wetlands

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  • (1): Aquaculture ponds
  • (2): Ponds (farm and stock ponds, small stock tanks, or area less than 8 ha)
  • (3): Irrigated land
  • (4): Seasonally flooded agricultural land
  • (5): Salt exploitation sites
  • (6): Water Storage areas/Reservoirs
  • (7): Excavations
  • (8): Wastewater treatment areas
  • (9): Canals and drainage channels or ditches
  • (Zk(c)): human-made karst and other subterranean hydrological systems

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ramsar.org homepage. Accessed 03.10.2016.
  2. ^ Ramsar.org: Ramsar Sites Information Service website, by Wetlands International. Accessed 03.10.2016.
  3. ^ "Ramsar Information Paper no. 5: the criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance" (PDF). The Ramsar Convention Secretariat. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type", Annex I of the Information sheet
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