World Wetlands Day 2019 will be celebrated on February 2, 2019 in whole world including India.
Theme: This year theme of this day is ‘Wetlands and Climate Change’.
About World Wetlands Day: Every year, February 2 is celebrated as World Wetlands Day, to mark the date of adoption of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. World Wetlands Day was first celebrated in 1997. Since then government agencies, non-government organisations and community groups have celebrated World Wetlands Day by undertaking actions to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. These activities include seminars, nature walks, festivals, announcement of new Ramsar sites, newspaper articles, radio interviews and wetland rehabilitation.
What is Wetland: A wetland is a place or a area where the land is covered by water, either salt, fresh or somewhere in between. It includes marshes and ponds, the edge of a lake or ocean, the delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood.
About Ramsar Convention: The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in 1971 at the Iranian City of Ramsar.
India and Ramsar Convention:-India is a party to the Convention since 1982, and committed to the Ramsar approach of wise use of wetlands. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is the nodal Ministry for wetlands conservation. It has been supporting the State Governments/ Union Territories since 1985, in design and implementation of Management Action Plans for conservation and management of wetlands including Ramsar sites. Financial and technical assistance has been provided to State Governments for implementation of Management Action Plans for over 140 wetlands of India. According to National Disaster Management Authority, over 40 hectares which means 12% of land in India is prone to floods and river erosion. Wetlands in India account for 4.7% of the total geographical area.
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