Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention, or Convention on wetlands, which is of international importance, in particular as habitats for water and wading birds, covers three fields of activity:

• the identification of Ramsar sites;
• wise use – sustainable utilisation;
• international cooperation.

As many as approximately 170 states have already signed the Ramsar Convention. World-wide there are about 2,341 Ramsar sites with a total area of approximately 252 million hectares. Austria has been a Member State to the Ramsar Convention since 1983.