Conference on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat was adopted at Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971. It was one of the first worldwide conservation treaties to be negotiated and preceded the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

The objective of the Convention is "to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future." These objectives are sufficiently broad to cover all types of wetland ecosystems although so far the main concern has been with the preservation of waterfowl habitat.