World Wetlands Day 2014: Wetlands and Agriculture

Each year on February 2^nd countries around the world celebrate World Wetlands Day, marking the anniversary of the 1971 signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) <www.ramsar.org>.  Canada, which has about 25% of the world’s wetlands, joined the Convention in 1981 and is home to 37 Wetlands of International Significance (Ramsar sites). 

World Wetlands Day 2014 celebrates Wetlands and Agriculture by highlighting successful agricultural practices that reduce negative impacts, sustain wetland health, and restore degraded wetlands.  Conserving wetlands inagricultural landscapes makes good sense.  Wetlands not only provide a number of ecosystem services such as reducing soil erosion and flooding, maintaining and enhancing water quality, filtering unintentional nutrient and pesticide run-off, recharging groundwater supplies, removing and storing greenhouse gases, and providing habitat for wildlife, but they also reduce the need for potential costly remediation measures if these important services are degraded or lost.

As of the last agricultural census in 2011, more than 25% of Canadian farms reported having permanent wetlands on their operations and 30% as having seasonal wetlands.  Various government and non-government organizations continue to work with the agricultural sector to promote best management practices targeted at conserving biodiversity and protecting wetland habitats.   

To find out more and explore wetland-agriculture challenges, solutions, and successes, explore more on this site or visit www.ramsar.org.