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.
As of November 2023[update], there are 2,500 Ramsar sites around the world, protecting 257,106,360 hectares (635,323,700 acres), and 172 national governments are participating.[1]
Site listings edit
The non-profit organisation Wetlands International provides access to the Ramsar database via the Ramsar Sites Information Service.[2]
Ramsar site criteria edit
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 edit
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 edit
- Saline water:
- Permanent:
- (A) Permanent shallow marine waters: Less than 6m deep at low tide; including sea bays and straits
- (B) Marine subtidal aquatic beds: Underwater vegetation; including kelp beds and sea grass beds, and tropical marine meadows
- (C) Coral reefs
- Shores:
- (D) Rocky marine shores
- (E) Sand, shingle or pebble shores
- Permanent:
- Saline or brackish water:
- Intertidal:
- (G) Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats
- (H) Intertidal marshes
- (I) Intertidal forested wetlands
- Lagoons:
- (J) Coastal brackish/saline lagoons
- Estuarine waters:
- (F) Estuarine waters
- Intertidal:
- Saline, brackish, or fresh water:
- Subterranean:
- (Zk(a)) Karst and other Subterranean hydrological systems
- Subterranean:
- Fresh water:
- Lagoons:
- (K) Coastal freshwater lagoons
- Lagoons:
Inland wetlands edit
- 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)
- Lakes
- Fresh, saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
- Geothermal (Zg)
- Subterranean (Zk(b))
Human-made wetlands edit
- (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 edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Ramsar.org homepage. Accessed 03.10.2016.
- ^ Ramsar.org: Ramsar Sites Information Service website, by Wetlands International. Accessed 03.10.2016.
- ^ "Ramsar Information Paper no. 5: the criteria for identifying wetlands of international importance" (PDF). The Ramsar Convention Secretariat. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type", Annex I of the Information sheet
External links edit
- Ramsar Sites Information Service.org: Official List of all Ramsar Sites website—via Ramsar Sites Information Service
- Ramsar Sites Information Service.org—images of Ramsar sites
- Ramsar.org: Ramsar Convention website