Ramsar areas

The Ramsar Convention, officially the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, is an act signed in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971 by a group of governments, scientific institutions and international organizations participating in the International Conference on Wetlands and Waterfowl, promoted by the International Wetlands and Waterfowl Research Bureau (IWRB), with the collaboration of the International Union for the Nature Conservation (IUCN) and the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). For the purposes of that Convention, wetlands are marshes and marshes, peatlands or basins, natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with standing or running fresh, brackish or salt water, including seawater expanses the depth of which, at low tide, does not exceed six metres. For the purposes of this Convention, waterfowl are birds that are ecologically dependent on wetlands.