Bonn/Gland,
2 February 2013 - World
Wetlands Day (WWD) is celebrated on 2 February
each year and marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands
on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

The theme of this year’s World Wetlands
Day is Wetlands and Water Management, a major area
of work that the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review
Panel of (STRP) has been dealing with over the years, which
has resulted in much helpful guidance for the Ramsar Parties.

This year Ramsar has joined hands with
UNESCO’s
International Hydrological Programme (IHP),
which will provide a unique platform to celebrate World
Wetlands Day 2013, as well as supporting Ramsar with the
production of WWD materials.

The slogan of the WWD 2013 campaign is
Wetlands Take Care of Water, which underlines the
fact that wetlands are fundamental regulators of water regimes
and essential elements of water infrastructure within water
management, as well as the value of wetlands as a socio-economic,
cultural and scientific resource. The water cycle is very
complex and human activities have a significant impact on
this never-ending cycle. Basically we are all water managers,
not just the water companies or government regulators; every
time we turn on a tap or buy food, we are responsible for
a small element of the much larger water management cycle.

For more information on WWD 2013 and the
role that wetlands play in the water cycle, visit the
WWD 2013 website or download the WWD
2013 leaflet.