The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, called the Ramsar Convention was signed in Ramsar on 2 February, 1971. Until now, it has been ratified by 168 countries which assigned 2186 wetlands of international importance, among which are 13 Polish sites. Poland acceded to the convention on 22 march 1978

The convention's mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development accross the world.

According to the Ramsar Convention wetlands are "...areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres". The Ramsar Contracting Parties, including Poland, have committed themselves to designate suitable wetlands for the List of Wetlands of International Importance, work towards the wise use of all their wetlands through national land-use planning, appropriate policies and legislation, management actions, and public education and to cooperate internationally in the implementation of the convention. The Ramsar Convention is the only environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem - wetlands, and Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet. More on the website dedicated to the protection of wetlands.

National Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention
sekretariat.ramsarska@gdos.gov.pl

The official website of the Ramsar Convention