World Wetlands Day 2021

Join this year's World Wetland's Day to help raise awareness of the importance of our peatlands.

This year’s theme shines a spotlight on wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages actions to restore them and stop their loss.

We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands.

The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet.

2 February each year is World Wetlands Day to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet. This day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

 

Find out how you can get involved

People grouped together, standing and sitting on a baled crop.
Opportunity to contribute to the understanding of the constraints and opportunities for agricultural lowland peat As part of the Paludiculture Exploration Fund, The National Institute of Agricultural Botany is…
Exterior view of Virtual Peatlands Pavilion showing four large domes in a peat swamp forest
The Virtual Peatlands Pavilion Word Tour continues at Ramsar COP15The next stop for the immersive digital library of peatland resources is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe,…
Person smiling and pointing at a sign saying '#BeMoreMoss'. Credit Vicky Akerman
Announcing Peat-Fest South-West 2025 – a celebration of our peatland connectionsThe Art and Energy Collective has been awarded a grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to…
Windfarm on peatland site
National Policy Statements public consultationOpportunity to contribute to public consultation on National Policy Statements to support Clean…
Line of fire being set by a vehicle with people on the back as part of swaling. Credit Heather Lowther (Creative Commons)
Public consultation on heather and grass burning regulations in EnglandThe IUCN UK Peatland Programme has responded to Defra’s proposal to protect a greater extent of…
Cross section of bare peat
New Peat Map for EnglandThis week Natural England published the much anticipated England Peat Map which highlights the…
IUCN World Conservation Congress logo
Peatland motion headed to World Conservation Congress for considerationThe IUCN UK Peatland Programme-led motion to develop a unified definition of peatlands has…
Area of burnt vegetation on national park in Northumberland
A collection of three Natural England reports marks a step change for English peatlandsWe summarise three new reports from Natural England which have important implications for English…
Neolithic trackway on Hatfield Moors. Credit: Henry Chapman Uni of Birmingham
New publication: Tracks and roads on peatlandsThe IUCN UK Peatland Programme are pleased to publish our latest brief focusing on the impacts of…
Peatland landscape showing flux tower and solar panel with a blue sky and hills in the background. Image credit Hollie Cooper, UKCEH
Funding announced for greenhouse gas reduction solutions on peatlandsThe UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is seeking proposals for projects up to £75,000 to advance…
Hare's tail cottongrass on Humberhead levels
Committee on Climate Change (CCC) 7th Carbon Budget Report - a response from IUCN UK Peatland ProgrammeThe IUCN UK Peatland Programme welcomes this week the publication of the Committee on Climate…
Water vole sitting with blackberries
New species showcase - Water voleContinuing the spotlight on peatland biodiversity, our first Species Showcase of 2025 is the Water…