Ramsar site

A Ramsar site is a site designated under the Ramsar Convention (the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat).

The Ramsar sites are recorded in a list: List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention (formally, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.

Convention

The convention was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran, on 2 February 1971, hosted by the Iranian Department of Environment, and came into force on 21 December 1975.

The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance now includes 2208 Sites (known as Ramsar Sites) covering over 210,734,269.41 ha (520,735,720.3 acres). The country with the highest number of Sites is the United Kingdom at 170 and the country with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Bolivia, with over 140,000 km² (54,000 sq mi). The Ramsar definition of wetlands is fairly wide, including "areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters" as well as fish ponds, rice paddies and salt pans.