ARamsar site is awetland site designated to be of international importance under theRamsar Convention,[1] also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an international environmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 inRamsar, Iran, under the auspices ofUNESCO. 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 theconservation of wetlands, and wisesustainable use of their resources.[1] Ramsar treaty participants meet regularly to identify and agree to protect "Wetlands of International Importance", especially those providingwaterfowlhabitat.
As of August 2025[update], there are 2,544 Ramsar sites around the world, which protect 257,994,488 hectares (637,518,260 acres), and 172 national governments participate in the convention.[1]
A wetland can be considered internationally important if any of the following nine criteria apply:[3]
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."
The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type is awetland 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.[4]
