World Wetlands Day – 2 February 2025

World Wetlands Day - 2 February 2025

World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 February. Healthy wetlands are critical for climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity, and human health. Yet, unsustainable development, pollution and climate change continue to threaten these essential ecosystems. Protecting wetlands for our common future requires collaboration on policies, regulations and community initiatives that spur effective conservation and sustainable wise use.

World Wetlands Day 2025 is of particular significance, as it shares the same theme with the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15), scheduled for 23-31 July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. This meeting will be the second COP to take place in Africa.

The theme for 2025 is “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”.

Economic benefits of wetlands:

  • Wetlands provide more than a billion jobs and services, valued at $47 trillion a year worldwide.
  • New and innovative green jobs are being created in wetland projects.

Biodiversity of wetlands:

  • Wetlands link habitats and facilitate the movement of species. This role as a connecting ecosystem is vital for maintaining genetic diversity and healthy populations.
  • Wetlands support 40% of all known plant and animal species. This includes many endangered, threatened, and endemic species that can only survive in certain wetland habitats.

Wetlands and climate change:

  • Climate change is impacting wetlands through severe and frequent droughts and increased evapotranspiration due to higher temperatures. At the same time, the loss of wetlands could worsen the impact of climate change, as these ecosystems provide essential services that mitigate the effects of climate change.

Wetlands and resilience to natural disasters:

  • Over 90% of natural disasters are caused by floods, droughts, storm surges and other water- related hazards. Healthy wetlands form a buffer against the increasing number of these events.
  • Wetlands are natural sponges. Salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, and other wetland habitats store water during floods and preserve surface water during droughts.

Act in three ways:

  • Make conscious choices to stop polluting wetlands.
  • Join the global effort to conserve and sustainably manage wetlands.
  • Take part in wetland restoration efforts locally.

“Wherever land meets water, life abounds. Wetlands exist in every corner of this beautiful planet and have often been referred to as the arteries and veins of the Earth. Majestic and mighty, wetlands are a sight to behold”. - Dr. Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands

Our actions on behalf of wetlands today will shape the tomorrows of generations to come.

#WWD2025
#WetlandsCOP15

World Wetlands Day Poster World Wetlands Day Poster (6.35 MB)

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