Messages - WWD2023

World Wetlands Day Messages and Statements

Dr. Musonda Mumba, Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands

27 January 2023

We are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. There is an urgency to raise global awareness on wetlands to arrest and reverse their rapid...

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Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention on Mercury

02 February 2023

"Wetlands are among the most important types of ecosystems. Their functions and services are essential for human lives and biodiversity. While some...

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H.E. Barr. Mohammed H. Abdullahi, Minister of Environment for Nigeria

02 February 2023

We really need to think about how we humans negatively impact on the environment; also have an urgent obligation to take pragmatic action to, not...

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Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

27 January 2023

Healthy wetlands are essential for a significant number and variety of migratory species of wild animals and provide a long list of benefits for...

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Ibrahim Thiaw, Under-Secretary General of The United Nations and The Executive Secretary of The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

27 January 2023

Wetlands are sometimes called “nature's kidneys” because of how critical they are for the overall health of our planet. We at UNCCD are proud to...

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Bruno Oberle, Director General, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

01 February 2023

This World Wetlands Day, we must place wetlands at the centre of national restoration approaches. Only then can we overcome the twin climate and...

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Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

01 February 2023

This decade we must accelerate action to protect, conserve and make sustainable use of wetlands for both people and nature. With the newly adopted...

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Dr Mark Smith, Director General, International Water Management Institute

01 February 2023

Wetlands host amazing biodiversity, and they deliver ecosystem services that are a foundation for the responses we need as a global community to...

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Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

31 January 2023

CITES is proud to work closely with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and to support them in their goal of reviving and restoring degraded...

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Jane Madgwick, CEO Wetlands International

31 January 2023

Bringing wetlands back into good condition is essential to safeguard all other ecosystems. To achieve the global wetland restoration targets, we...

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Dr Kirsten Schijt, Director General WWF International

30 January 2023

We need urgent investment in restoring degraded wetlands to tackle the dual crisis and drive sustainable development.

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Dr. Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary, Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA

27 January 2023

Restoring lost or degraded wetlands is absolutely crucial for waterbird conservation as it is an important means of creating and restoring the...

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