World Wetlands Day

 

  • World Wetlands Day is observed every year on 02 February.
  • It aims to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands, which apart from contributing to biodiversity, also help in mitigation of climate impact and availability of freshwater.
  • The theme for the World Wetlands Day 2022 is 'Wetland's action for people and nature showing the actions required to ensure the conservation and sustenance of wetlands.


History of World Wetlands Day

  • The day was first accepted as an international treaty named the Convention on Wetlands on February 02, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran.
  • The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 75/317 for World Wetlands Day on August 30, 2021.
  • Though public awareness regarding the day started in 1997.


Significance of World Wetlands Day

  • The wetlands play a significant role in the ecosystem as they are the biodiversity hotspots, being the habitat for many aquatic flora and fauna.
  • It is also home to numerous species of birds, including migratory species.
  • The destruction of wetlands will lead to the damage of millions of people associated with the wetland ecosystem directly or indirectly.
  • So, observing this day will make people understand the importance of wetlands.


About Wetlands

  • Wetlands are defined as areas intermediate in character between deep-water and terrestrial habitats which are transition in nature and mostly located between them.
  • As per the Ramsar conventions, wetlands consist of both natural and manmade sites like lakes, swamps, marshes, mangroves, salt pans, tidal flats, and reservoirs.
  • Wetlands occur naturally on every continent, except for Antarctica. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater.
  • The main wetland types are classified based on the dominant plants and/or the source of the water.
  • For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent vegetation such as reeds, cattails and sedges; swamps are ones dominated by woody vegetation such as trees and shrubs.
  • Examples of wetlands classified by their sources of water include tidal wetlands, estuaries (mixed tidal and river waters), floodplains, springs, seeps and fens (groundwater discharge out onto the surface), bogs and vernal ponds (rainfall or meltwater).
  • Some wetlands have multiple types of plants and are fed by multiple sources of water, making them difficult to classify.


Importance of wetland

  • Wetlands play a critical role in maintaining many natural cycles and supporting a wide range of biodiversity.
  • The wetlands are the homes of many creatures and they would be homeless if the wetlands were to vanish.
  • The wetlands are responsible for a very diverse ecosystem and the ecosystem will be spoiled if the wetlands cease to exist.
  • They purify and replenish our water, and provide the fish and rice that feed billions.
  • They serve as a natural sponge against flooding and drought, protect our coastlines and help fight climate change.
  • Bursting with biodiversity, wetlands are a vital means of storing carbon.
  • Wetlands are also tremendously productive ecosystems that provide a myriad of services to society worldwide.

Dangers faced by wetlands

  • These wetlands, despite being critical for human survival, are disappearing three times faster than forests and are Earth’s most threatened ecosystem.
  • According to the UN, 35 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been lost in the last 50 years.
  • Human activities such as drainage, pollution, overfishing and overexploitation of resources pose a major danger to wetlands. They also face extinction by invasive species and climate change.

 

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