World Wetlands Day (WWD)
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Second February each year is observed as World Wetlands Day (WWD). It marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The WWD was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and made an encouraging beginning. Over the years, 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. Every year the Ramsar Convention selects a theme and raises awareness on specific types of wetlands or aspects of wetland management. For 2013 the theme selected is Wetlands and Water Management. The key objective of World Wetlands Day 2013 is to raise people’s awareness of the interdependence between water and wetlands, to highlight ways to ensure the equitable sharing of water between different stakeholder groups and to understand that without wetlands there will be no water. Wetlands take care of water is this year’s slogan. Without wetlands there will be no water – and without water there will be no wetlands. Wetlands are fundamental regulators of water regimes. Since the conference of the contracting Parties in 1996, Ramsar has widely recognised that not only is water crucial for maintaining the important ecological functions of wetlands, but also that wetlands should be considered as essential components of overall water management infrastructure. Without the appropriate management of wetlands there is no water of the right quality and quantity, where and when it is needed. The total volume of water on earth is about 1.4 billion cubic kilometres. The volume of freshwater resources is around 35 million cubic kilometres, or about 2.5% of the total volume. only 0.3% of the freshwater resources are in our rivers and lakes. The total usable freshwater supply for ecosystems and humans is about 200,000 cubic kilometres of water, or less than 1% of all freshwater resources. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under water stress conditions. The situation will be exacerbated as rapidly growing urban areas place heavy pressure on neighbouring water resources and associated wetlands
