World Wetlands Day 2002 - index page What is World Wetlands
Day?2 February each year is World Wetlands Day. It marks the
date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February
1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian
Sea. WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and made an
encouraging beginning. Subsequent World Wetlands Days have been
organized around such suggested themes as the importance of
water to life and of wetlands to the supply of water and, in
1999, on "People and Wetlands: the Vital Link". Each year,
government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups
of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage
of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public
awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the
Ramsar Convention in particular. From 1997 to 2001, the
Convention’s Web site has posted reports from more than 60
countries of WWD activities of all sizes and shapes, from
lectures and seminars, nature walks, child