Ramsar Convention

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Convention on wetlands, particularly as a habitat for waterbirds and waders, of international importance
Short title: Ramsar Convention
Title (engl.): Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat
Ramsar logo.svg
Date: 2nd February 1971
Come into effect: 1975
Reference: UN Treaty Series No. 14583. As amended by the Paris Protocol, December 3, 1982, and Regina Amendments, May 28, 1987
Contract type: Multinational
Legal matter: Environmental law
Signing: 10 (Australia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Morocco, Gabon, Niger, Thailand)
Ratification : 171 (November 2019) (A)

Germany: Ratification February 26, 1976 (11.) *
Liechtenstein: Accession August 6, 1991 (61.) *
Austria: Accession December 16, 1982 (32.) *
Switzerland: Ratified January 16, 1976 (10th) *
(A)  * 73 states also Regina Amendments, in force tr. May 1, 1994; 9 states only Convention 1971
Please note the note on the applicable contract version .

The Ramsar Convention designates the Convention on Wetlands , especially as a habitat for waterbirds and waders , of international importance , English Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat . It is a treaty under international law , the drafting of which was initiated by UNESCO .

history

The convention was concluded on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar , Iran, making it one of the oldest international treaties on nature conservation . The name comes from the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the contract negotiations took place. The convention came into force in 1975 and was signed by 21 founding states. The Federal Republic of Germany ratified the convention in 1976, the German Democratic Republic in 1978. By 1999, a total of 119 states had ratified the treaty, currently there are 171.

Although initiated by the UN, the agreement is outside of the UNEP environmental treaties .

The World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2, 1997, the anniversary of the conclusion of the Ramsar Convention.

Concerns of the Ramsar Convention

There are four main areas to be implemented by the contracting parties:

  1. Protection of wetlands
  2. Promotion of international cooperation in the protection of wetlands
  3. Promoting the exchange of information on wetland protection and
  4. Support for the work of the Convention

This conference was preceded by the first large-scale and supra-regional water bird censuses in the 1960s , which showed a massive decline in the bird species concerned. The agreement obliges the accession states to take suitable measures to preserve biodiversity in the designated areas. The aim is not a total ban on use - such a ban would hardly be feasible for many of the poorer countries - but the principle of sustainable , ecologically balanced use (“ wise use ”) is to be implemented.

Legal position of the Ramsar agreement

A declaration as a Ramsar area is not a protection category in the true sense, that is, it does not represent any concrete legal handling, but is a "predicate (seal of approval)", the protection itself is voluntary by the signatory states. The implementation of the obligations entered into by the convention takes place, for example, through several European directives and environmental law at national level.

A separate office, the International Ramsar Secretariat (Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, Ramsar Secretariat) in Gland , on the south-west bank of Lake Geneva at the headquarters of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources  (IUCN), monitors the implementation of the Convention and their further development. In principle, it is sovereign, but works closely with IUCN and the UN and its sub-organizations (UNESCO, UNEP). Every three years, reports on the status of wetland protection are presented at conferences of the contracting states.

Ramsar areas

Currently, 2,388 areas with nearly 2.1 million km² enjoy protection under the guidelines of the Convention; they are spread across 168 countries (as of July 2014). The states with the most areas are Great Britain with 175 and Mexico with 142. Bolivia has the largest area with 148,000 km², followed by Chad and Russia . The former lake area of Lake Chad has been a protected area of ​​the Ramsar Convention since 2008, the first cross-border area in all of Africa.

The 14 largest areas worldwide (as of 2009) under the protection of the Convention are:

The European member states are listed in the navigation bar below.

Web links

Commons : Ramsar Convention  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Areas:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The text of the Ramsar Convention and other key original documents. ramsar.org, accessed in 2011 (current text with amendments, original text, status of ratifications, etc.).
  2. ↑ Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention (as of November 4, 2019). (PDF) ramsar.org, accessed in 2020 (list of states that have ratified the agreement).
  3. ^ A b The Staff of the Ramsar Secretariat , ramsar.org > Address Book> Ramsar Secretariat , accessed 8/2013
  4. ↑ Austrian Ramsar areas , Federal Environment Agency (UBA)
  5. ^ Ramsar Sites Info. ramsar.org; Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Ramsar Sites Info. ramsar.org; accessed on February 22, 2020
  7. ↑ Lake Chad to be fully protected as international wetlands ( Memento from March 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Jorge Monteverde: Humedales, Refugios del agua: actualización una . (Spanish)