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February 2 : World Wetlands Day

'Wetlands and Water - Supporting Life, Sustaining Livelihoods' will be the theme for this year's World Wetlands Day, which will be observed on February 2. The Day is commemorated on the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, on February 2, 1971.

The first observation of the event was held in 1997. Since then, governments, non-governmental organisations and community groups all over the world have got together to celebrate the day by taking action to raise awareness about the value and benefits of wetlands and to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, launching new policies, announcing new Ramsar sites and promoting wetland conservation through the media such as newspapers, radio and television. Between 1997 and 2005, activities carried out by 90 countries had been reported in the Convention's website.

Wetlands are among the world's most productive environments. They are cradles of bio-diversity, providing water and other primary resources upon which many species of plants and animals depend for their survival.

The Ramsar Convention, which is formally known as the 'Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially at Waterfowl Habitats' applies to a variety of wetlands such as marshes and peatland, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salty. It includes areas of marine water, which at low tide, doesn't exceed six metres in depth.

The Convention had 145 partners as at May 2005, while 1,429 sites with an area totalling 125 million hectares have been designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of International Importance.

UNESCO acts as the depository for the Convention which is administered by a secretariat known as the Ramsar Bureau and is hosted by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Switzerland. The IUCN, Wetlands International, World Wildlife Fund and Birdland International were the organisations instrumental in setting up the Convention.

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