Important year for wetlands and the Ramsar Convention
2025 will be an important year for wetlands and the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty established in 1971 that is committed to the protection and sustainable management of wetlands worldwide. Belgium, together with the Czech Republic and Sweden, will fulfil a temporary role as Standing Committee Member for three years, representing the European region within Ramsar.
As a national focal point, INBO has both the coordinating function and the expertise to support and further shape the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in Belgium. In January, together with Service Public de Wallonie, we took part in the 64th Standing Committee meeting in Switzerland. This was crucial preparation for the COP15 of the Ramsar Convention, which will take place in July 2025 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
During COP15, world leaders, experts and policymakers will come together to determine the future of wetlands. This is an important opportunity to establish commitments for the restoration of degraded wetlands, the designation of new Ramsar areas and the integration of wetlands in national climate and development strategies. At this COP, the city of Mechelen will be the first in the Benelux to be accredited as a ‘Ramsar Wetland City’, a first that we, as a national organisation, helped to shape.
Image above: Dijle estuary (photo Yves Adams - Vildaphoto)
