Purpose: The 2 February each year is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet. This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The UN’s global platform would step up efforts to promote the wise use of wetlands by increasing understanding that healthy wetlands are critical to securing a resilient, nature-positive and climate-neutral world. Contributing to 75 SDG indicators, wetlands are one of the most world’s valuable ecosystem and a nature-based solution for mitigating emissions through their massive carbon storage capacities, protecting communities and ecosystems from climate impacts, and reversing biodiversity loss.
FORUM: "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage." World Wetlands Day 2026. The theme explores the deep-rooted connections between wetlands and cultural practices, traditions and knowledge systems of communities across the world. Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests, and more than 35% of wetlands have been degraded or lost since 1970. This year’s theme highlights the deep connections between wetlands and people, calling for urgent action to safeguard these ecosystems as vital ecological and cultural assets for current and future generations. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world. It runs from 2021 to 2030. By conserving the world’s wetlands, we safeguard biodiversity, enhance climate resilience and secure critical ecosystem services that support human health, economic wellbeing and cultural heritage. Follow the conversations with the hashtags #WorldWetlandsDay, #wetlandrestoration, #2February ,#ReviveAndRestore, #wetlands.
EVENTS: On February 2nd, 2026 at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and online, the Celebration of World Wetlands Day 2026 will coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Italy’s ratification of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, adopted in 1971. The event will be co-organized by the Italian Permanent Representation of Italy to the United Nations, the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), the Lazio Region, the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve, and the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands, with the technical support of FAO. This session will be followed by afternoon events at the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve – Italy’s first Ramsar site. This year’s theme resonates strongly with FAO’s mandate to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. Moreover, it underscores the urgent need to protect, restore, and sustainably use wetlands by valuing traditional knowledge as a cornerstone for ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable agrifood systems, in line with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030). REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND THE EVENT ONSITE or REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND THE EVENT ONLINE.
AGENDA, 2 February 2026, 09:00-11:00 (UTC+1)
08:30 – Opening of the Room
Welcome coffee
09:00 – Opening Remarks
Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary of State for the Environment and Energy Security, Italy
Zhimin WU, Assistant Director-General and Director of the Forestry Division, FAO
Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands
09:40 – Session 1: The Universal Value of Wetlands
Valuing, conserving, restoring and financing wetlands – Hugh Robertson, Chair of STRP, Convention on Wetlands, New Zealand
Earth observation for the wetland inventories of the future: preview of the first national wetland inventory based on satellite data – Christian Tøttrup, Senior Advisor and EO4WI Project Manager, DHI, Denmark
Mediterranean wetlands: responses to ongoing crises – Anis Guelmami, Coordinator of the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory, Tour du Valat, France
10:10 – Session 2: Celebrating Natural and Cultural Heritage
Wetlands: a celebration of nature’s wonder – FAO
Ramsar wetlands in Italy - ISPRA
10:20 – Session 3: 50 Years of the Convention in Italy
Thirty years of evolution of the Ramsar Site “Marano Lagunare: Mouth of the Stella River” – Pierpaolo Zanchetta, Biodiversity Service, Directorate for Agrifood, Forestry and Agriculture, Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
The role of the Ramsar Site “Laghi di Preola e Gorghi Tondi” for the restoration of the dried-up ponds and the endemic water turtle population – Stefania D’Angelo, Director of the Laghi di Preola e Gorghi Tondi Oasis, WWF; Susanna D’Antoni, STRP Focal Point for the Convention on Wetlands, ISPRA
Innovative financial instruments for the protection and restoration of peatlands and other wetlands – Alessandro Leonardi, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Etifor | Valuing Nature
10:50 – Closing Remarks
Francesco Tomas, Director General for the Protection of Biodiversity and the Sea, Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Italy (tbc)
Lifeng Li, Director of the Land and Water Division, FAO
An afternoon session will be held from 13:00 to 17:30 at the Nazzano Tevere–Farfa Regional Nature Reserve, including a guided visit to Lake Nazzano, one of the first Ramsar Sites established in Italy. View the programme here >>>; Further details on World Wetlands Day are available on the official website here.
On Feburary 2nd;The observance of World Wetlands Day 2026 hosted by the FAO, in collaboration with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat is open to everyone — from international organizations, governments, wetland practitioners, to children, youth, media, community groups, decision-makers, to all individuals, the celebrations will remind us how these ecosystems are important for us all. Get the list of upcoming events and Register to participate!
PUBLICATION: The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the state of wetlands worldwide, their value, and their future. Produced by the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) of the Convention on Wetlands, the report presents the latest data on the extent of wetlands, trends in their degradation, the value of their ecosystem services, and the scale of action and investment required to meet global restoration and conservation targets. Read the full report!
STATEMENTS:
Statement from Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme.
Statement from Dr. Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands.
Statement from Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Statement from Dr. Coenraad Krijger, Chief Executive Officer of Wetlands International
Statement from Mr. Claude Gascon, Interim CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility
Statement from Dr. Mohammed Ali Qurban, CEO of the National Center of Wildlife, Saudi Arabia
Statement of Mr. Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International.
Statement from Prof. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization
Statement from Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change
Statement from Mr. Yvonne Higuero, Secretary General of CITES.
The 7 best practices in wetland restoration
Consider the multitude of services the natural wetland provided, and aim to recapture a wide range of those benefits, not just one or two.
Aim to recreate a wetland ecosystem that can maintain itself
Integrate local communities and industries during planning and implementation.
Identify the causes of degradation and limit or eliminate them.
Clean up the degraded area.
Restore native vegetation and wildlife, and remove invasive species.
Restrict site access, creating specific places for people and animals.
The 3 key elements of the definition of wise use are:
ecological character, which is the combination of the ecosystem components, processes and benefits/services that characterise the wetland at a given point in time;
ecosystem approaches, which consider the complex relationships between every element of an ecosystem, and promote the integrated management of land, water and living resources (including humans); and
sustainable development, which is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.
Guidance, at the international level, on implementing ‘wise use’ is provided through the Ramsar toolkit, which is available at: www.ramsar.org/
The 7 key benefits from restored wetlands
Increased biodiversity.
Replenished and filtered water supply.
Enhanced protection against floods and storms.
More local and sustainable livelihoods, less poverty.
Increased tourism, higher quality leisure time.
Increased carbon storage and avoided emissions.
Inner satisfaction of achieving a transformation.
The wise use concept is about maintaining wetland values and functions, while at the same time delivering services and benefits now and into the future, for human well-being.
PODCASTS: The Ramsar Convention is an international intergovernmental treaty which aims to halt and, where possible, reverse the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve those that remain through wise use and management. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Check the campaign and spread the word with its material. It’s a chance for all nations to come together in advocacy for our planet’s wetlands. You are invited to to participate to the campaign. Get the Graphics Design; the poster, Watch the Wall of Pledges and Make a Pledge to Act for Wetlands. Get the communication materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE WETLANDS?
Wetlands are among the most important and productive ecosystems in the world. The services delivered by wetlands have been valued at US$ 14 trillion annually. In particular, the principal supply of renewable fresh water for human use comes from a variety of inland wetland habitats, including lakes, rivers, swamps and shallow groundwater aquifers.
ACTIONS
Wise use, in promoting maintenance of environmental, economic and social sustainability, encourages compromise (or tradeoffs) between individual and collective interests. To achieve sound decisions on wetland use and management, decision-makers at local, regional and national levels need to enable participation by relevant stakeholders and to balance a variety of objectives and perspectives.
PARTNERS
The World Wetlands Day is organized in partnerships with Ramsar Secretariat; Conservation International; World Wildlide Fund (WWF); UN Environment; UNEP/CMS; CITES secretariat; BirdLife International; Wetlands International; NEEF ; Russian Wetlands conservation and many others.
Make a donation.
Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas where water exists at or near the Earth's surface, such as swamps, marshes and bogs. ... In addition to food, wetlands supply fibre, fuel and medicinal plants.