The world commemorates World Wetlands Day on February 2, 2023, to raise global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet. The day highlights the urgent need to restore and protect wetlands.

UNEP is co-organizing a session at the World Forestry Congress in Korea (2-6 May) entitled “Forest-Water Connections to achieve the SDGs”. The session will explore how managing forests for water-related services can contribute to achieving the SDGs.

Wetlands are some of the planet’s most important ecosystems. They’re a haven for wildlife, they filter pollution and they’re important stores of carbon. But they’re also one of the Earth’s most threatened habitats.

A call to take action for wetlands is the focus of this years’ campaign.

Historically, there has been little data on the global state of freshwater ecosystems. To fill the gap, UNEP used Earth Observation technologies to track, over long time periods, the extent to which freshwater ecosystems are changing. Researchers surveyed more than 75,000 bodies of water in 89 countries.