Modern thinking seeing value in urban wetlands
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February so this year it falls on Friday of this week. The event is an initiative of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. The convention is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where it was signed on 2 February 1971. World Wetlands Day is the annual commemoration to mark the date of the adoption of the convention.
Since it was adopted on 2 February 1971 forty-seven years ago, 169 countries have become contracting parties to the convention, designating 2,293 Ramsar sites covering an area of some 225 million hectares of wetlands.
The Convention entered into force in Ireland on 15 March 1985 and Ireland currently has 45 Ramsar sites covering 66,994ha. The biggest Ramsar site in Ireland is Lough Corrib, Co Galway, with an area of 17,728ha. The last site to be designated was Lough Derravaragh, Co Westmeath, a raised cutaway bog, in 1996. Full details about all 45 sites shown on the map above may be accessed online at www.ramsar.org/wetland/ireland.
Each year, World Wetlands Day has a specific theme. This year, the theme is “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future”. About half of the world’s population lives in cities. That number is expected to grow to 66% by the year 2050 as people move to cities in search of jobs and a vibrant social life.
As cities, towns and urban areas expanded and demand for building land increased, the tendency in the past was to encroach on wetlands as they were often seen as good-for-nothing wasteland to be filled in and built upon.
Modern thinking sees value in having urban wetlands. They soak up and store heavy rainfall. They act as giant sponges, absorbing water and reducing flooding. They filter water that seeps into aquifers helping to replenish water supplies. They improve urban air quality.
They support biodiversity. They promote human well-being by providing green spaces for recreation and interaction with nature thereby reducing stress and improving health. Wetlands provide opportunities for fishing, bird watching, nature study and eco-tourism. They enable some people to earn a living.
The bottom line is that World Wetlands Day 2018 urges us to see value in wetlands, to cherish them and to use them wisely and sustainably for the common good.