On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, we invite you to a remote lesson about wetlands.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 February. 2 d. At the Caspian seaside resort of Ramsar, Israel, 18 countries around the world have signed the United Nations Convention (also known as the Ramsar Convention or Treaty), which commits to the conservation and responsible use of the world's wetlands and other wetlands: lowland, intermediate wetlands, upland, reed, natural and artificial water bodies, permanently or temporarily flooded areas where water is concentrated or flowing continuously (fresh, semi-salt or even salt). They also include sea coasts with a depth of no more than 6 meters at low tide.

The text of the Ramsar Convention (in force since 21 December 1975, as amended; available on the Convention website  (in English).

1974 The world's first protected wetland of international importance was declared on the Cobourg Peninsula with the coastal Timor Sea (Northern Australia), rich in protected and rare marine species and abundant bird colonies.

Today, 171 states have already signed the Ramsar Treaty. There are 2,416 protected Ramsar sites in the world ( as of early 2021) , totaling more than 254 million. ha area.

Lithuania acceded to the Convention in 1993. Currently, 7 wetlands of international significance are protected in our country: Čepkeliai, Kamanai and Viešvilė nature reserves, Žuvintas biosphere reserve, Nemunas delta regional park, Girutiškis swamp and Adutiškis-Svyla-Birvėtai wetland complex.

The World Conservation Organization and the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention publish a new theme for International Wetlands Day every year. The theme of World Wetlands Day 2021, 'Wetlands and Water', is that wetlands, water and life are inseparable.

On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, we invite you to a remote lesson about wetlands. The distance lesson “Swamp and Man” of the program series “Destroyers of Natural Myths” of the LMNŠC Department of Nature and Ecological Education is led by the foundation's expert dr. Jūratė Sendžikaitė.