World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on February 2 to raise awareness about wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971.
This year’s celebration of World Wetlands Day in 2022 is particularly significant—as on August 30, 2021, the UN General Assembly adoptedResolution 75/317, which designated February 2 as World Wetlands Day.
Nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. Yet wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, global economies, and more.
It is urgent that we raise national and global awareness about wetlands in order to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them.
World Wetlands Day is the perfect opportunity to raise public awareness of these critically important ecosystems.