World Wetlands Day is marked on 2 February. The global campaign under the auspices of the United Nations raises awareness of the critical importance of these biodiversity-rich and productive ecosystems.

The theme of this year’s campaign is “Conserving wetlands for our common future”. It highlights the urgent need for bold action to protect these natural and threatened habitats for the well-being of all people, so that future generations can continue to benefit from what wetlands have to offer. The logo represents people from all over the world, united in a common commitment to protect our planet’s wetlands.

On 2 February 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar. Since 2022, February 2 has been declared an international day for all nations and people around the world to join efforts to protect our planet's wetlands with the message that healthy wetlands are essential to our overall well-being and long-term survival.

Bulgaria was among the first countries to join the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. In the list of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), our country is represented by 11 wetlands with a total area of nearly 50 000 ha, which represents 0.45% of the country's territory - "Atanasovsko Lake", "Belenski Islands Complex", "Durankulak Lake", "Ibisha Island", "Shable Lake", "Poda Area", "Pomorie Lake", "Ropotamo Complex", "Srebarna Lake", "Vaya Lake", and "Dragomansko Blato Karst Complex".

Life thrives in wetlands and depends on these critically important ecosystems. Wetlands are home or breeding grounds for many protected and endangered species. Beyond the clean water and food that wetlands provide, they help protect against natural disasters by mitigating the impact of storms, floods and droughts. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in their soil and biomass, wetlands make the planet more resilient to climate change. Economically, people depend on wetlands for their livelihoods in agriculture and tourism.

International research shows that since 1700, nearly 90% of the world's wetlands have degraded, and humanity is losing wetlands three times faster than forests. There is an urgent need to raise national and global awareness of wetlands importance in order to reverse the trend of their rapid loss and to encourage action to protect and restore them.

Information about wetlands of global importance in Bulgaria (Ramsar sites) can be found HERE.

More about this year's theme for World Wetlands Day can be found in the presentation "Conserving wetlands for our common future", as well as on the Ramsar Convention website - https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/materials#