World Wetlands Day
2 February 2026 — Ribbit! The heron is passing over the reeds – wetlands are home to us all!
Every year on 2 February the world marks World Wetlands Day. The date recalls 2 February 1971, when the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar. It was the first international agreement dedicated to protecting one type of natural habitat. The day was recognised as a UN international day by a General Assembly resolution in 2021, and the Convention's secretariat coordinates the celebrations.
Marshes, lakes, deltas, peatlands and coastal lagoons purify water, hold back floods, store carbon and shelter thousands of species, from frogs and fish to herons and pelicans. Many migratory birds depend on them for rest along their journeys. That is why people around the world organise walks, birdwatching and shoreline clean-ups.
The day is tied not to a celestial event but to the anniversary of the Convention's signing. In the Northern Hemisphere it falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, as the first migrants prepare to return. And at night, the still water of a lake mirrors the starry sky.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver heron made of luminous dots and thin connecting lines, like a constellation gliding across the night sky, flying over a few star-line reeds
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