World Wetland Day marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997.

Wetlands for our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods is the theme for World Wetlands Day in 2016.

Wetlands are areas of land that are permanently or seasonally saturated with water. They are vital environments for their often unique plant and animal life.

Livelihoods from fishing, rice farming, travel, tourism, and water provision all depend on wetlands.  And wetlands are vital to us in many other ways.  They host a huge variety of life, protect our coastlines, provide natural sponges against river flooding, and store carbon dioxide to regulate climate change.

Unfortunately, wetlands are often viewed as wasteland, and more than 64% of our wetlands have disappeared since 1900.

The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life.