"It's time for wetland restoration" - World Wetlands Day 2023 celebration
World Wetlands Day is a worldwide campaign to raise public awareness of the role of wetlands in nature and human activities. It is celebrated every year on February 2 to commemorate the signing of the Convention on Wetlands - an international treaty adopted in 1971 in which 172 countries currently participate. Wetlands, or wetlands, are areas of land that are permanently or seasonally saturated or flooded with water. Inland wetlands include swamps, bogs, lakes, rivers, floodplains and marshes. Coastal wetlands include salt marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and even coral reefs. Fish ponds, rice fields and salt pans are man-made wetlands. Wetlands perform important functions for society, from storage and water, to protection against storms and floods, to maintaining biodiversity and carbon accumulation. More than 35% of wetlands have been degraded since 1970, and the process is accelerating. Reversing this trend is of key importance for maintaining balance in nature and human functioning, also in the context of adaptation to climate change. “Our actions matter. One small action can create a ripple effect." - this is the main idea behind the visualization of the campaign, which symbolically depicts a person actively restoring the wetland through the planting process. Spreading waves mean the spread of ideas and the far-reaching impact of even the smallest decisions.