thumb|Map of Ramsar sites

thumb|[[Harike Wetland is a Ramsar site in India]]

thumb|[[Bissagos Islands|Archipel Bolama-Bijagos Ramsar site in Guinea-Bissau]]

thumb|Walkway in [[Zuvintas Biosphere Reserve]]

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an international environmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, under the auspices of UNESCO. It came into force on 21 December 1975, when it was ratified by a sufficient number of nations. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources.

Criteria for Ramsar sites

A wetland can be considered internationally important if any of the following nine criteria apply:

  • Criterion 1: "it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region."
  • Criterion 2: "it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities."
  • Criterion 3: "it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region."
  • Criterion 4: "it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions."
  • Criterion 5: "it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds."
  • Criterion 6: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird."
  • Criterion 7: "it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity."
  • Criterion 8: "it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend."
  • Criterion 9: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species."

Classification System

The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type is a wetland classification developed within the Ramsar Convention intended as a means for fast identification of the main types of wetlands for the purposes of the Convention.

Marine/coastal wetlands

  • Saline water:
  • Permanent:
  • (A) Permanent shallow marine waters: Less than 6m deep at low tide; including sea bays and straits
  • (B) Marine subtidal aquatic beds: Underwater vegetation; including kelp beds and sea grass beds, and tropical marine meadows
  • (C) Coral reefs
  • Shores:
  • (D) Rocky marine shores
  • (E) Sand, shingle or pebble shores
  • Saline or brackish water:
  • Intertidal:
  • (G) Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats
  • (H) Intertidal marshes
  • (I) Intertidal forested wetlands
  • Lagoons:
  • (J) Coastal brackish/saline lagoons
  • Estuarine waters:
  • (F) Estuarine waters
  • Saline, brackish, or fresh water:
  • Subterranean:
  • (Zk(a)) Karst and other subterranean hydrological systems
  • Fresh water:
  • Lagoons:
  • (K) Coastal freshwater lagoons

Inland wetlands

  • Fresh water:
  • Flowing water:
  • Permanent:
  • Permanent inland river deltas (L)
  • Permanent rivers/creeks/streams (M)
  • Freshwater springs, oases (Y)
  • Seasonal/intermittent rivers/creeks/streams (N)
  • Lakes/pools:
  • Permanent >8 ha (O)
  • Permanent < 8 ha(Tp)
  • Seasonal / Intermittent > 8 ha (P)
  • Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
  • Marshes on inorganic soils:
  • Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp)
  • Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (shrub dominated)(W)
  • Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (tree dominated) (Xf)
  • Seasonal/intermittent (herb dominated) (Ts)
  • Marshes on peat soils:
  • Permanent (non-forested)(U)
  • Permanent (forested)(Xp)
  • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils:
  • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / High altitude (alpine) (Va)
  • Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / Tundra (Vt)
  • Saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
  • Lakes
  • Permanent (Q)
  • Seasonal/intermittent (R)
  • Marshes/pools
  • Permanent (Sp)
  • Seasonal/intermittent (Ss)
  • Fresh, saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
  • Geothermal (Zg)
  • Subterranean (Zk(b))

Human-made wetlands

  • (1): Aquaculture ponds
  • (2): Ponds (farm and stock ponds, small stock tanks, or area less than 8 ha)
  • (3): Irrigated land
  • (4): Seasonally flooded agricultural land
  • (5): Salt exploitation sites
  • (6): Water Storage areas/Reservoirs
  • (7): Excavations
  • (8): Wastewater treatment areas
  • (9): Canals and drainage channels or ditches
  • (Zk(c)): human-made karst and other subterranean hydrological systems

See also

  • List of parties to the Ramsar Convention
  • Montreux Record

References

  • Ramsar Sites Information Service.org: Official List of all Ramsar Sites website—via Ramsar Sites Information Service
  • Ramsar Sites Information Service.org—images of Ramsar sites
  • Ramsar.org: Ramsar Convention website