Wetlands
Preserving wetlands as a natural response to climate change.
Wetlands such as floodplains, springs, swamps, wet meadows, alluvial fans, streams, and peatlands perform a wide range of ecological functions. They play a crucial role in various water cycles, contributing not only to the security of our drinking water and flood protection but also, as carbon sinks, making a significant contribution to climate protection.
International Wetlands Day – 2 February 2019
On the occasion of World Wetlands Day on 2 February 2019, hundreds of events and celebrations took place worldwide. The Ramsar Convention, a globally binding treaty for wetland protection, was signed on 2 February 1971 in the city of Ramsar, Iran, and has since been joined by 170 countries.
By conserving and restoring wetlands, especially river floodplains and numerous peatlands, carbon storage can help mitigate climate change. The convention calls for the “Wise Use” of all wetlands and the designation of “Wetlands of International Importance.”
To raise awareness, the Austrian-Slovenian Mur Protection Committee “Naša Mura – Unsere Mur” organized a Ramsar hike along the Mur River on Sunday, 3 February 2019, in Bad Radkersburg, Southeast Styria. Austria recently submitted the border Mur area to UNESCO for recognition as a Biosphere Reserve, which was highlighted during the event.
Today, Austria has 23 Ramsar sites covering a total area of about 1,250 km², roughly 1.5 percent of the country’s territory. Most of these are forested areas, along with large river areas and lake shores. Many significant Alpine peatlands, primarily owned by Austrian Federal Forests, are included, as well as large protected areas such as the Kalkalpen National Park. The Donau-Auen National Park has been a Ramsar site since Austria joined in 1983.
23 Ramsar Sites in Austria
Neusiedler See with Seewinkel (Burgenland), Donau-March Floodplains (Lower Austria), Lower Lobau (Vienna), Reservoirs of the Lower Inn (Upper Austria), Rhine Delta at Lake Constance (Vorarlberg), Sablatnig Moor (Carinthia), Pürgschachen Moor (Styria), Rotmoos in Fuscher Valley (Salzburg), Hörfeld (Carinthia/Styria), Waldviertel Moor, River and Pond Landscapes (Lower Austria), Lafnitztal (Styria and Burgenland), Peatlands at Pass Thurn (Salzburg), Sauerfelder Forest Peatlands (Salzburg), Schwarzenberg Peatlands (Salzburg), Überling Peatlands (Salzburg), Nassköhr Peatlands (Styria), Kalkalpen National Park (Upper Austria), Bavarian Wildalm Peatlands (Tyrol), Keutschach-Schiefling Peat and Lake Area (Carinthia), Autertal / St. Lorenzen High Moor (Carinthia), Güssinger Ponds (Burgenland), Wilder Kaiser (Tyrol), Upper Drava (Carinthia).
Since its founding in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, 170 countries have joined the Ramsar Convention, nominating 2,339 Ramsar sites covering 252 million hectares—about 45 times the size of Switzerland. On average, a new Ramsar site is added every two days.
The Ramsar Convention is currently the only international agreement specifically dedicated to a particular habitat: wetlands. It defines wetlands broadly, including swamps, peatlands, wet meadows, shallow water areas up to eight meters deep, lakes, rivers, and their estuaries, coastal zones such as mangroves, coral reefs, and tidal flats, as well as human-made wetlands such as ponds, rice fields, and reservoirs.