World Wetlands Day

2 February 2010 

Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change

2010 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity. It is therefore appropriate that the theme for World Wetlands Day 2010 puts the spotlight on wetland biodiversity and the impacts of climate change, with the message:

Caring for wetlands - an answer to climate change

Wetlands are crucial for a range of ecosystem services such as pollution control, nutrient recycling, groundwater recharge, moderation of extreme flooding and drought events and the supply of freshwater. Climate change could affect all these ecosystem services through its impacts upon the hydrological cycle. Improved wetland management to restore and maintain biodiversity is a means of naturally combatting climate change.

World Wetlands Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the water-wetland-biodiversity linkages and to celebrate achievements in protecting and restoring wetland biodiversity.

World Wetlands Day at Lake B/Kaituna

What is World Wetlands Day?

World Wetlands Day is held on 2 February every year and marks the signing of the International Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and since then, events and activities are held world wide in February each year to raise awareness of wetland values and benefits.

Various events will be happening across New Zealand on or around 2 February to celebrate World Wetlands Day.  A full list of events will be posted on this site in January 2010.