The 2nd of February each year is designated as World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands (known as the Ramsar Convention) on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The 2013 World Wetlands Day theme is “Wetlands and Water Management,” reflecting how the wise use of wetlands is essential to sustainable water management, and the slogan is, “Wetlands Take Care of Water.”
The Marshall Islands celebrated World Wetlands Day 2013 with a day of activities organized and sponsored by Namdrik Atoll Local government. The day began with an early morning walk-a-thon, followed by a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, volleyball games, a raffle, food booths, and more.
The Convention on Wetlands came into force in the Marshall Islands on November 11, 2004. Currently, the Marshall Islands has two sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance: Jaluit Atoll Conservation Area and Namdrik Atoll. The vision of the Marshall Islands government is that the RMI “will have lush green vegetation and its environment will be clean and intact. Its waters will be abundant with its resources.”
For more information on wetlands and World Wetlands Day 2013, please click here (PDF 334KB).
