Ramsar Convention

50th Anniversary of the Ramsar Convention

World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2 February. It marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971. So this year is extra special: it’s the 50th Anniversary of the Ramsar Convention!

The Ramsar Convention's broad aims are to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain.

This requires international cooperation, policy making, capacity building and technology transfer.

Wetlands play an important role in our Cradle Coast region, providing clean water, carbon storage, storm protection, fish nurseries, biodiversity conservation, supporting sustainable livelihoods and jobs and ecosystem resilience.

We have one Ramsar listed wetland in the Cradle Coast region, the Lavinia State Reserve on King Island. The site contains a highly significant and diverse set of ecosystems and is one of few largely unaltered areas of King Island.

The reserve is over 7000 hectares including major wetlands of saltmarsh, coastal lagoons, perched lakes, swamp forests and numerous smaller seasonally-inundated wetland areas. It is hugely important for resident and migratory birds including threatened species like the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot and King Island Scrubtit. Wetlands are often ecological communities that are threatened by drainage and development for urban or agricultural development. There are many wetlands in the Cradle Coast region which are critically important but not currently listed under the Ramsar Convention, so it is important that all wetlands are recognised for their values and protected, regardless of their formal status.

Lavinia Ramsar Site, Lavinia Ramsar Ecological Character Description 2012

For more information on World Wetland Day and the Ramsar Convention visit: www.worldwetlandsday.org