The Ramsar 40th Anniversary Message for January 2012
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| Mangrove Forest, Jozani Forest, Zanzibar |
Key Message 12: "Wetlands, leisure and tourism – take a breath of fresh air"
With their natural beauty and biodiversity wetlands make ideal locations for tourism. The income can be significant and support livelihoods locally and nationally. Wetlands provide other ‘services’ , too, such as water, food, water purification, erosion control ,etc., for the benefit of tourists and tourist accommodation. The income generated by tourism for national and local economies in and around wetlands can be substantial: the Broads in the UK supports the equivalent of 3,000 full-time jobs; over 1.6 million people visit the Great Barrier Reef every year, generating an income of over 1 billion AUS$. But - unsustainable tourism may bring short-term benefits but long-term losses to wetland health, compromising ecosystem services and sometimes local livelihoods.
» Follow the link here to see our key message for this month and additional tools to expand on the message.
» Ramsar 40th anniversary celebrations
Discover our new photo mosaic to celebrate 40 years of continuous work to protect and conserve wetlands around the world!
The new mosaic is “Pine trees (Pinus pinea) of Strofilia forest, Axios, Loudias, Aliakmon Delta Ramsar Site, Greece, © Themida Nasopoulou”.
Visit our website www.40thramsar.org and participate in our online photo gallery by sending us your pictures of wetlands ecosystems!
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.
The Ramsar Mission
The Convention's mission is "the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world".
The Wise Use Concept
At the centre of the Ramsar philosophy is the “wise use” concept. The wise use of wetlands is defined as "the maintenance of their ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development". "Wise use" therefore has at its heart the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources, for the benefit of humankind.
