Ramsar

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently more than 160 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1953 wetland sites, totalling more than a 190 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. (See also, "wetland")